WWE Rumor Roundup: 11-time World Champion set for stunning return, Jim Ross rejects WWE Backstage role and more – 4th October 2019

In today's roundup, we take a look at CM Punk confirming talks about a return to WWE on FOX, Braun Strowman's massive salary and of course, the return of a 11-time World Champion! But first, let's kick off with the latest rumour doing the rounds:

Jim Ross rejects WWE Backstage role

WWE Backstage is going to be a show on the FOX Network dedicated to reviewing Friday Night SmackDown. Dave Meltzer now reports that Jim Ross was picked by FOX to be on the show but the Hall of Famer rejected the role because of his deal with All Elite Wrestling.

WON report:

“FOX is in charge of the show, not WWE. The idea is for it to be like UFC Tonight. We’ll see as we’ve never seen a WWE product acknowledge the type of things UFC Tonight did (such as lawsuits against the company, fighters unhappy with money, discussions of unionization, percentage of revenue going to fighters–then again WWE wrestlers are afraid to say anything about money for fear of their push whereas UFC fighters who are good are more open to say what they are thinking even though most are careful).

"To show how much it’s a FOX call, Jim Ross was offered a spot on the show. Ross turned it down, for obvious reasons, but the fact he’d get an offer was telling.”

WWE Backstage is set to premiere on November 5th with Renee Young as the host and Booker T as co-host.

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11-time World Champion set for a stunning return

One retired Superstar the WWE Universe is desperate to see back in the ring is Edge and it looks like the return is set to happen. The 11-time World Champion has signed a new deal with the company and could be in line to make an in-ring return as per reports.

WON report: “While it is not confirmed that he will wrestle again, the idea of him wrestling again has definitely been talked about very privately, although we’re not sure if he can get clearance. Those within creative, who admittedly wouldn’t know as this would be kept super-secret, are still under the impression Edge will never be cleared to wrestle again.”

Edge returned to the ring for the first time in several years at SummerSlam this year. While he did not take a bump, he delivered a spear to Elias to kick things off! He has made it clear that he is waiting for a comeback, with all signs hinting at the same!

CM Punk confirms talks with FOX for WWE Backstage

CM Punk

CM Punk has already made it clear that he would love to be a part of the Friday Night SmackDown premiere on the FOX network. Now, he has confirmed that he was in talks with FOX for a role on WWE Backstage.

The former WWE champion was one of the top stars who auditioned for the role which was later bagged by Booker T. On Collider Live, Punk said:

"My agents just called me and they were like FOX is throwing everything at this because they spent a lot of money on this and they are all in and they have to make it work. They reached out and want to know if you, I think originally, I thought it was a WWE thing so I was just like ‘well, no’, and they are like, ‘this is FOX’. I’m not dealing with anybody in WWE. They were legit like ‘it’s FOX’ and I was just like ‘okay’, and they explained to me what it was and I love Renee Young. Renee Young is a great person. She’s Canadian, so she’s obviously super over the top. Nice and friendly.

"And It’s along the lines of what I do for CFFC but I prefaced it with like ‘guys I’m not going to come in and dump all over stuff to dump on it. Like I said, that’s old Phil. But if it’s bad I go, 'I can’t, I’m not going to be able to pretend that it’s anything but bad’. So they want to present it like it’s a real sport and just have a show that recaps stuff, just like they do with NFL. Just like NHL network will do with Hockey games and stuff like that. That’s where we are with that."

Braun Strowman's salary revealed

Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman signed a new deal recently and it was a bumper one as per Wrestling Observer Newsletter. They report that his new 4-year deal is worth a whopping $1.2 million per year!

"When Strowman signed his latest deal, it was a four-year contract believed to be for $1.2 million per year. The key to that number is there are exceptions, but generally, the top downside number WWE offers is $1 million.

"Obviously, Styles signed for significantly more than that when his deal was due because of AEW. There are others who just because they knew how to negotiate, the company knew they could go elsewhere and make money, and the company feels were valuable that have guarantees above the $1 million threshold.

AJ Styles' partners, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows were on the verge of leaving WWE but made a U-turn and signed a new deal. They too were reportedly offered a huge contract after they rejected their initial deal.

The recent deal that Gallows & Anderson signed was five years at $700,000 per year each. They had turned down a $500,000 per year deal and were ready to leave when their contracts were due.

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