WWE Rumors: Update on Lio Rush's WWE status after two-month absence

What's the story?

Writing in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Lio Rush’s name is not mentioned in WWE’s creative meetings and there are no plans for him to return to television.

In case you didn't know…

After debuting in NXT in October 2017, Lio Rush moved through the WWE ranks surprisingly quickly by joining the 205 Live roster in June 2018 before appearing on Monday Night Raw in September 2018 as Bobby Lashley’s ‘hype man’.

Despite becoming a regular presence on WWE programming during his alliance with Lashley, Rush suddenly disappeared from television in April 2019 amid speculation that he had garnered backstage heat for numerous reasons.

The 24-year-old clarified his WWE situation in an interview with Fightful, in which he claimed that he is not earning enough money to be able to pay for travel and road expenses with the company. He also suggested that somebody backstage could be leaking false information in an attempt to get him released.

In recent weeks, it has been widely reported that Rush is heading back to NXT.

The heart of the matter

With Lio Rush’s WWE future still up in the air, Dave Meltzer revealed that his reintroduction as a character on the main roster is not something that has been brought up by the creative team.

"Regarding Lio Rush, who has disappeared, the response on the creative end is that nobody talks about him and he’s not someone being used. He is still under contract but he has also removed all WWE mentions from his social media and has put up an address for taking dates."

What's next?

As the report states, Lio Rush does not look likely to appear on Raw or SmackDown Live any time soon, which means fans will have to get used to seeing Bobby Lashley without a mouthpiece in his current rivalry with Braun Strowman and in future feuds over the next few months.

Despite Rush removing mentions of WWE from his social media, all signs appear to point towards a return to NXT.