Latest on The Rock's WWE Return; Lacey Evans Fuels Exit Rumors; Buzz on Chelsea Green

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

The Rock Not Likely Returning to WWE During Actors Strike

When SAG-AFTRA went on strike, there was speculation it could open up a window in the schedule for The Rock to make an appearance on WWE television.

However, fans who have been anticipating the Great One back in the ring will likely be upset at what The Rock's business partner and former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz had to say about the situation.

Appearing on The Ringer's Cheap Heat podcast (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Gewirtz said it would be a "bad look for a prominent actor" to show up on an entertainment program during a strike while other people in the industry are not currently being paid.

There was some buzz that The Rock might make an appearance at SummerSlam because he was engaged in an online war of words with Grayson Waller.

Waller also went on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani on July 24 and said The Rock was "technically" unemployed right now because of the strikes and encouraged him to show up at SummerSlam.

Production on film and television shows in the United States has largely been shut down amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. The Rock is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and recently donated funds to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation to assist workers in need of financial assistance during this period of unrest and negotiations with studios.

Waller's verbal jabs at the Brahma Bull wound up leading to nothing at the Aug. 5 premium live event. This doesn't mean nothing will come of their online feud, but it doesn't sound like The Rock will be showing up on WWE television before the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved.

Latest on Lacey Evans' WWE Future

If social media profiles are to be believed, Lacey Evans' tenure in WWE appears to have ended.

Evans recently changed the header on her Instagram profile referring to herself as "formerly known as WWE Superstar Lacey Evans."

In a post on Instagram from Tuesday, she wrote this: "When the clock strikes 12, you will address me as Macey Estrella from here on out..."

Macey Estrella is Evans' real name. It was also the first name she used when she originally signed with WWE in 2016.

Evans hasn't wrestled on television since losing to Charlotte Flair on the June 23 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

WWE never really figured out what to do with Evans once she was called up to the main roster at the 2019 Royal Rumble. She originally debuted as a sassy southern belle and was put into a high-profile feud with Becky Lynch.

Evans took a year off in 2021 after announcing she was pregnant. WWE repackaged her by using her real-life history as a Marine for what seemed like a babyface turn in a series of vignettes that aired early in 2022, but upon returning to television she immediately went heel again.

WWE High on Chelsea Green Angle

Even though the WWE women's tag team championships have seemingly been cursed, it did result in an angle that company officials are enjoying.

Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE officials "seemed happy about the buzz" the Chelsea's Got Talent angle has received.

In the wake of Sonya Deville suffering a torn ACL that left the fate of the tag team titles up in the air, Green has hosted segments called Chelsea's Got Talent to audition for a new partner.

The audition part came to an unusual end on Monday's episode of Raw. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter confronted Green backstage when Piper Niven attacked Chance and Carter then simply took the second tag title belt and told Green she was her new partner.

This was apparently enough to convince Green and on-screen authority figure Adam Pearce that the tag titles now officially belong to Green and Niven.

Given all of the issues WWE has had trying to keep women's teams healthy and in the company, this actually isn't the worst idea they've had to crown a new champion.

Just in the past 16 months, the titles were vacated because Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of WWE and remained out of commission until August 2022 when Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez won an eight-team tournament.

Rodriguez had a second reign with Liv Morgan as her partner earlier this year that ended on May 19 when they had to vacate the titles when Morgan suffered a shoulder injury. They won the titles back at Money in the Bank by defeating Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler when Baszler turned on Rousey.

Green and Deville won the titles on the July 17 episode of Raw. Deville tore her ACL 11 days later on SmackDown in a tag match against Flair and Bianca Belair.

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