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It's ideally the best time to follow the WWE product as the company approaches a pretty packed season of events. During the time known as The Road to WrestleMania, the surprises are aplenty and we're already getting some at house shows.
A forgotten star made his in-ring return for the company after multiple years in a match many wouldn't have expected. A former World Champion also opened up about his relationship with The Rock and a favor he's asked from The Final Boss.
The latest WWE roundup also features some speculation on Vince McMahon and updates on Malakai Black's potential return:
Charlotte Flair to return and wrestle a CURRENT CHAMPION?
#1. Lince Dorado returns to the WWE ring
In a comeback that no one saw coming, Lince Dorado returned to the ring for the WWE at a recent NXT house show.
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Having wrestled extensively on the indies for years, Dorado was first signed to WWE in 2016 and he remained with the company until his exit in 2021. During that phase, the star competed alongside Kalisto and Gran Metalik as The Lucha House Party and would also be involved in the cruiserweight division.
After wrestling in various companies for a couple of years, the 37-year-old re-signed with WWE as a trainer in 2023 and has since been working with talents in the developmental arena.
Before this week, Lince Dorado's last WWE match was on a Main Event Taping against Cedric Alexander in September 2021. He entered the promotion's squared circle again this week to face Josh Black at an NXT live event in Florida.
It would be interesting to see whether this is just a one-off or if Dorado will be more active as a wrestler.
#2. Drew Mcintyre opens up about his relationship with The Rock
For the talents, The Rock isn't just a legend anymore as he is technically also amongst their bosses. Dwayne Johnson is one of TKO's Board of Directors. Going by his recent interactions with talents backstage, it's safe to say Rock gets along well with the roster, especially with the top names.
Drew McIntyre recently spoke to Alex McCarthy and delved deeper into the important role that The Rock has played in his career. McIntyre was grateful to have Johnson's support through the good and bad times and recalled a gift he received from the Hollywood star when he first returned to WWE years ago.
McIntyre has become a main event player now and he revealed asking The Rock for a favor, which could come to fruition soon:
"He always had such positive public comments. When I re-signed, [he] sent the sword as a little gift. He has always been there for advice and to include me in his live stream after the match, I wasn't exactly expecting it, but I feel very honored that he's willing to shine a kind of light on me. And he swore first, then I saw an opportunity. It's so hard not to swear being Scottish. So I got a little laugh, and I got to ask a little favor, and he's working on that for me," McIntyre said.
Considering that we saw McIntyre and Rock together backstage not too long ago, the so-called favor could involve an ongoing storyline.
#3. Teddy Long believed Vince McMahon will go ahead with his big plans
You can take Vince McMahon out of the WWE but he will still be mentioned in pro wrestling spaces.
The 79-year-old issued a statement more than a week back about reaching a settlement with the SEC regarding the hush-money payments. While he claimed to have closed his case, it was noted that Vince McMahon is still not done with the civil lawsuit from Janel Grant and other ongoing criminal investigations into sexual misconduct.
However, McMahon is confident of resuming business and Teddy Long felt that is exactly what will happen. VKM is reportedly preparing to start his own media organization that would fund TV shows and movies. Long believes that McMahon could pursue this project in the near future and also shared his honest views about the status of the allegations against his former boss:
"I think he will move forward with what he is trying to do. Like I said, I've always been this way about everything. A person is not guilty until they are found guilty. So if this gets right with Vince, if the stuff gets dismissed, congratulations to him, man, because I hope everything with him comes out alright."
Check out the video below:
Vince McMahon seemingly has no roads back into pro wrestling but he isn't giving up on potentially setting up a new company.
#4. Creative plans for Malakai Black are already being discussed
There is a lot of noise about Malakai Black's future but his AEW exit seems inevitable. The leader of The House of Black joined All Elite Wrestling in 2021 and barring a few memorable moments, Malakai has struggled to have a consistent impact in the top half of the card.
It has reached a phase where the 39-year-old star is done with AEW despite having some time left on his deal.
Dave Meltzer revealed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that no one knows specifically when Black's AEW contract expires. The 2027 timeframe allegedly provided by Tony Khan isn't believed to be accurate by many within WWE as it was reported that the creative team has already started talking about ideas for the star.
Some speculate he could be a free agent soon, but a confirmation or exact date hasn't been provided as of this writing. While AEW might consider him gone already, WWE seems excited to welcome the former Aleister Black back.
