WWE Rumors on LA Knight Heat and Ricochet Injury; Mandy Rose Talks Tiffany Stratton | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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

Details on Knight’s Rumored Backstage Heat

Amid rumors of some potential backstage heat, Fightful Select reported this week that LA Knight recently had a backstage disagreement within WWE.

According to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), there was a disconnect over how much Knight-related merchandise was brought on WWE’s overseas tour since “not a lot” of it made the trip.

Knight is arguably the fastest-rising and most popular star in WWE currently, which explains why he headlined last weekend’s Crown Jewel premium live event in an undisputed WWE Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns.

Earlier this month, Wrestlenomics (h/t Upton) reported that Knight was the No. 1 merchandise seller in WWE in October ahead of the likes of Cody Rhodes, John Cena and even Reigns.

Speaking last week on his Hall of Fame podcast (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), WWE Hall of Famer and NXT announcer Booker T mentioned that he had heard of some backstage issues involving Knight, saying:

“I’ve heard guys say, ‘LA Knight, he’s got a bad attitude. I don’t know about this guy, he’s got a bad attitude.’ My thing is this, I’ve never really cared about getting heat with the boys as long as the boss liked everything that was going on. If the boss liked it, I was cool.”

Booker’s comments led to Sapp being asked about Knight having heat, but Sapp noted that the only issue he had been told about was the disagreement about merchandise.

Although Knight lost to Reigns at Crown Jewel, he remains one of WWE’s top stars, and if he continues to make the company money, there is little doubt that WWE will be content with riding the wave.

Ricochet Reportedly in WWE’s Concussion Protocol

Ricochet is reportedly being evaluated for a concussion after competing in a Fatal 4-Way match against The Miz, Bronson Reed and Ivar on Monday’s episode of Raw.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Upton) reported this week that while he doesn’t know if Ricochet actually has a concussion, he is in WWE’s concussion protocol.

Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Upton) previously said this week that he was “99 percent positive” there was a miscue at the end of the match involving Ricochet.

The Miz pinned Reed and Ivar pinned Ricochet simultaneously, but Ricochet kicked out and Reed did not, leaving Miz as the winner.

There was seemingly some confusion after the match, as Ricochet apparently was not supposed to kick out, and the plan was for Miz and Ivar to both win the match.

Ricochet suffering an injury during the match could have led to the mistake, and it was perhaps the impetus behind WWE wanting to evaluate him for a head injury.

It is unclear how long Ricochet will be out of action, but WWE figures to take a cautious approach when it comes to a potential head injury, as is the case in all major sports.

Mandy Rose Praises Tiffany Stratton

Former WWE Superstar and NXT women’s champion Mandy Rose gave her thoughts on current NXT star Tiffany Stratton this week.

During an appearance on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio (h/t Upton), Rose was asked about comparisons between herself and Stratton, and she took the opportunity to praise both Stratton and the rest of the up-and-coming female talent in NXT:

“Obviously, I love what Tiffany Stratton has done since I’ve been away from there. I think there were some comparisons with them trying to make her like me, which I don’t agree with. I think she’s her own person. We all can be compared to people, like I love being compared to Trish Stratus, but I am my own person as well.

“So I think she’s an incredible athlete. Even when I was training over there, the way she was progressively getting better so fast, it was wild. So I definitely see that. I just think there’s so many women right now that are arriving. Some of these girls, I remember training, they just got there, and now they’re having these amazing matches. It’s crazy to see, which is awesome.”

Stratton did not make her in-ring debut until 2021, but she already has an NXT women’s title reign to her credit, and all signs point to her being a huge star on WWE’s main roster in the not-too-distant future.

In addition to having the ideal look for WWE, Stratton plays her character well and has parlayed her impressive athleticism into being a strong in-ring worker just two years into her career.

Before her WWE release, Rose was NXT women’s champion for 413 days and the leader of Toxic Attraction, which was essentially a group of mean girls who bullied the rest of the division.

Stratton has a mean girl gimmick in her own right, and she has unquestionably excelled in her role as the top heel in the NXT women’s division.

Rose enjoyed success both in NXT and on the main roster, and every indication is that Stratton will follow in her footsteps.

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