Backstage WWE and AEW Rumors: Latest on Drew McIntyre, The Elite and More
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Drew McIntyre has been a significant part of WWE programming since 2020, when he captured the company’s top prize and proceeded to star for the promotion during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, contract negotiations and displeasure surrounding his creative plans have left The Scottish Warrior sitting out these early summer months.
McIntyre’s status with WWE headlines this week’s collection of rumors and is joined by an update on The Elite’s deals with All Elite Wrestling.
Could Drew McIntyre Appear at Money in the Bank?
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WWE would very much like Drew McIntyre to appear at Money in the Bank at the O2 Arena in London on July 1, per Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com Elite (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats).
However, contract discussions between WWE and the Scot are at a standstill. The report states that until McIntyre and the company can come to an agreement on how he will be utilized on television, he is likely to stay home.
The Scottish Warrior is a two-time WWE champion who helped carry the company through the COVID-19 pandemic and proved to be a workhorse, headlining live events against top stars well after he dropped the title for the second time.
The 38-year-old is perpetually over, delivers between the ropes and has been a great spokesman and ambassador for the company. He is deserving of a big contract and a greater role than he has had over the last year or so.
If staying on the sidelines until WWE recognizes his value or flirting with going elsewhere is what it takes to get management to understand you are serious about your place in the negotiations, so be it.
More than deserving a deal that is best for him, he has earned it.
Latest on The Elite’s Contract Talks with AEW
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There is confidence within AEW that The Elite will re-sign with the company, per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select.
“Those we spoke with in AEW were confident they’d retain the Elite, despite CM Punk returning to the company,” Sapp said. “We’ve not been given any update on Elite and their willingness to work with Punk, though creative is planned for several of them for quite some time.”
Sapp added that due to a number of factors, including a Kenny Omega injury, time has been added to more than one contract, making it difficult to know exactly when the deals run out.
Considering “Hangman” Adam Page, The Young Bucks and Omega have been booked in main events as the central babyfaces in AEW, it would seem to suggest the company itself has strong expectations that the faction will remain with the promotion.
Otherwise, it would be an all-time-bad business decision on the part of Tony Khan to allow them to continue starring at the level they are. The AEW president has made some questionable booking decisions in the past, but even this one would seem way out of character for the owner of the company.
Maximum Male Models to be Repackaged?
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With Maxxine Dupri now managing Alpha Academy in a potential breakout role for her, questions arose about the status of ma.çé and mån.sôör of Maximum Male Models.
Sapp reported that the team may be repackaged, but details are limited at this point.
“Those that we’ve heard from within WWE Creative said that McMahon was originally high on Maximum Male Models, but didn’t want them to be “flamboyant.” That course was corrected under Triple H, who encouraged that. However, since Vince McMahon’s return, that has been scaled back significantly, as has their usage in general,” the report stated.
The duo were responsible for some highly entertaining, fun social media content that showcased their personalities and let fans see what they were capable of.
Unfortunately, it never really translated to television, even under Triple H, and the two have been largely inconsequential to WWE television.
Repackaging them probably won’t help matters, either.
This would be the third time ma.çé has been repackaged after the failure that was Retribution, and his stablemate went from hometown hero in Saudi Arabia to modelling, and now the question becomes, “Where does he go from here?”
Both men were done a great disservice out of the gate as they should have been allowed to go all-in with the gimmick from the get-go rather than developing it late and having the carpet pulled from underneath them.
