Lio Rush’s alliance with Bobby Lashley may be over.
“The All Mighty” appeared on “Miz TV” last night on Raw, but without “The Man of the Hour” by his side. Rush, however, was backstage, according to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com.
Rush’s absence comes a few days after Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the 24-year-old has heat with people in WWE. According to Meltzer, Rush’s confidence rubs people the wrong way and he has been vocal backstage to several people about his position in the company.
“There is internal heat on Lio Rush. On Raw this week, he wasn’t out with Lashley (neither were on Raw itself but Lashley worked the dark match main event). Rush is a very confident man. That can rub people the wrong way, even though you have to have that to be a star in this business. The story goes that he’s made it very clear to many people that he thinks he should be a/the top guy on the brand, and hasn’t been shy about saying it.”
Johnson reports that there has been a lot of talk of Rush returning to NXT. Johnson indicates that this potential move stems from Rush being a polarizing figure backstage. Johnson cites Rush not adhering to “backstage etiquette” during a European tour last November and a few other issues.
Johnson wrote, “There’s been a lot of talk within the company that he’s going to be shifted back over to WWE NXT in the near future. Rush has been a polarizing figure backstage for some time among other wrestlers, dating back to the November 2018 European tour, where as the junior member of the tour, he blew off what has long been considered standard backstage etiquette for the junior member of the roster on overseas tours, including being at the gorilla position after matches to provide water to talents as they returned from the ring as well as carrying coolers and drinks into the hotels where the roster was staying in order to set up a common area where everyone could socialize privately together.
“These sorts of menial jobs are often done to show respect to the locker room and the business and are usually passed on to the next junior member of the locker room when someone else is brought up to the main roster. Given that this was his first European tour, these responsibilities would have technically fallen on Rush’s shoulders. When several veterans tried to explain to Rush that he was making a mistake, he blew off the advice and complained to WWE management, which didn’t score him any points.
“Things calmed down in recent months, but there have been additional issues, including Rush allegedly bringing friends and relatives backstage without proper credentials and other moments where he has blown off counsel of senior Raw roster members.”
