Was R-Truth's shocking WWE return a work or real? Exploring what happened
Was R-Truth's shocking WWE return a work or real? Exploring what happened
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Damian Priest explains how Bad Bunny took WWE training seriously
Damian Priest recalls how Bad Bunny took his WWE appearance seriously and how he raised the bar for other celebrity cameos.
When it comes to R-Truth, WWE fans want the truth.
The wrestling world is still buzzing from the main event of Money in the Bank 2025, when a masked man who attacked John Cena turned out to be R-Truth, drawing rousing reactions inside the arena and fans watching around the world. It capped off what was a turbulent week surrounding the veteran star after he said on June 1 his contract was ending after 17 years with WWE. Fans voiced their displeasure with the announcement at shows following the news, but a week later, he was back in the ring, signaling he's once again with the company.
The quick timing of it all has raised questions as to whether R-Truth was actually released, or if it was a work − part of the storyline. The line has been blurred between reality and fiction, and there's been plenty of material to suggest both sides of the argument are correct. So, what really is the truth?
WrestleMania 42 will be in Las Vegas: Triple H explains why WWE show returns to city
Why R-Truth saga could have been a work
The suspicion of it being a storyline came in the Money in the Bank postshow. WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque briefly mentioned it during his opening statement, and a USA TODAY Sports reporter asked him whether R-Truth was actually released, and if so, how much did the fan response play a role in it. Levesque smirked and gave a blunt answer.
"I love the question. Enjoying the show?" Levesque said. "All part of the show man."
While not much said, Levesque's comment heavily implied all of it led to stunning moment at Money in the Bank. Perhaps R-Truth's announcement was fake and was meant to draw heat. Fans were upset and wanting him back, so when he did come back, the crowd would go wild and feel pleased.
Why R-Truth's contract expiration, return was likely real
Levesque's comment drew plenty of criticism online, with fans claiming he was trying to cover himself and the company from the decision to let R-Truth's contract expire, leading to why there's strong belief all of it was real.
Several WWE stars voiced their sadness with R-Truth's departure after the announcement, from Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, The Miz and Kevin Owens. Ripley even posted a picture of her wearing one of his shirts during Raw. The reaction from stars also indicated how stunned yet pleased with R-Truth's comeback. Commentator Cathy Kelly was emotional when discussing it on the post show, and Cody Rhodes said the fans let it be known he had to come back
"You guys wanted R-Truth, and it's always our job, everybody here, Triple H, Nick Khan, to give you what you want, so thank you guys for letting us know," he said.
Plus, the man himself let it be known how the fan response led to his return. On social media, R-Truth said "no work" in response to someone claiming fans got fooled, and in another comment, mentioned how much fans helped bring him back.
Several reports also indicate none of it was fake. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp reported people within the company didn't believe it was a work, and PWInsider.com reported a deal between R-Truth and WWE came together within 72 hours prior to Money in the Bank. Ross also added R-Truth ignored WWE's attempts throughout the week to reconnect, and WWE president Nick Khan was instrumental in getting a new deal done. R-Truth's son, Christopher Killings, posted on Instagram "congrats on the new deal dad."
The complete truth likely won't be revealed for some time, but it appears WWE realized the mistake it made in not coming up with a new contract for someone beloved by fans and fellow wrestlers. The company heard its fans. The outrage that ensued made the company realize how much of an asset he was, and now the 53-year-old is back for potentially one grand last run in WWE.
It may be a new version of R-Truth appearing as well. The attack on Cena was far from the comedic, outgoing person he had been known to be, and WWE Shop addressed him on social media as his real name, Ron Killings. Regardless of what happens next, the wrestling world is ecstatic to see him back.
The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Fox News
Logan Paul's jaw-dropping springboard moonsault wows fans at WWE Money in the Bank
Logan Paul has continuously performed highlight reel-worthy moves in the WWE ring since he became a member of the company a few years ago. Saturday night's Money in the Bank may have taken the cake. Paul teamed up with John Cena to take on Cody Rhodes and world heavyweight champion Jey Uso in the latest chapter of Cena's farewell tour. Cena interrupted Paul's title match at "Saturday Night's Main Event" last month, leading to the return of Rhodes. In the last few weeks, the four men have taken sides, and it culminated into a match. He hit a few of his signature moves during the match – a frog splash here, a Paul-verizer there. But fans jumped out of their seats when he and Uso fought outside the ring. Paul put Uso on top of one of the announcer tables. He then went to the apron and looked back to check Uso a couple of times before he hopped onto the middle rope and did a moonsault to crash onto Uso. The two pro wrestlers went through the table together in what may have been the moment of the night. Unfortunately for the Paul-Cena team, the match didn't go into their favor. As the referee checked on both Paul and Uso, Cena hit Rhodes with the Undisputed WWE Championship belt. Then R-Truth made a shocking appearance to cost Cena the match. Rhodes hit Cena with the Cross Rhodes and pinned him for the win. But Paul's move caught the eye of WWE fans. Jake Paul even weighed in with his take. "My brother is the best wrestler in the WWE," the boxer wrote on X. It's unclear what's next for Logan Paul. Cena, leaning into his heel character, dubbed Paul the future face of WWE. Paul has certainly shown he has the move set for it. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Naomi on WWE Money in the Bank, Her Hatred For Jade Cargill and Dream Stipulation Matches: ‘I Just Want To Use My Razor Blades'
As a four-time qualifier for the career-changing ladder match, there are few women on WWE's roster more qualified (or overdue) to win Money in the Bank than Naomi. An uber-athletic, high-flying veteran who's spent more than 12 years wrestling for WWE, the longtime fan-favorite shocked viewers back in March by turning heel and revealing she'd attacked former friend Jade Cargill. Advertisement More from Variety The latest stop on Naomi's reign of terror across WWE's women's division is Los Angeles, where she'll compete against five other women in the Money in the Bank ladder match for a guaranteed title opportunity. Ahead of Money in the Bank 2025, Naomi spoke to Variety about turning heel, dream world title feuds, and which stipulation would be the perfect end to her feud with Jade. Though for the better part of a decade, fans have known her as the energetic, infectious personality with an affinity for neon, Naomi says her decision to reinvent herself was a long time coming. 'I'd been thinking about this for a while, about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do if I was going to change,' she explains. 'I wanted to do something completely opposite and outside of the box, from the bright, the glow, the neon colors and the bright, bubbly stuff.' Advertisement 'With what I did to Jade, and leaving a crime scene, it popped into my head – oh man, this is perfect. Caution tape is universal. Everybody knows what that means when they see it.' Naomi's new 'Proceed With Caution' mantra also meant new entrance music, swapping her bass-heavy 'GLOW' theme song for an alt-rock track with furious, screaming vocals. 'That was crazy,' she says of hearing her new music for the first time. 'I loved it. Again, I wanted to go with something different, more of an edge. I do love alternative rock, and when I requested new music, I was able to have a little input. I definitely wanted to be rock instead of the EDM that I had done before, or the hip-hop vibes I had with other music. I'm very happy with it.' Though Naomi was happy with her new, edgier look and persona, she admits she was initially nervous about how fans would receive such a drastic shift in character. 'It's everything that I wanted it to be,' she gushes. 'It feels good to be able to change the audience perspective of me in such a quick period of time.' Advertisement 'That's something I was definitely nervous about, because they've seen me as a good character and a 'good girl' for so long. To just completely switch it up – you never know how or if it's going to work, or whether or not fans are going to buy it. That was a big challenge for me.' Sure enough, fans did buy Naomi's heel turn, and her clash with Jade has blossomed into one of the hottest, longest-running WWE feuds of 2025. Whether trading barbs on social media or interfering in each other's matches, Jade and Naomi's feud has ignited a debate among fans as to which member of the now-defunct 'big three' is in the right. 'To see the reaction and the live response, that's what I care most about. The fans are engaging with me and interacting with me during the show, that's the key. I definitely feel the energy, so I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing, which is being absolutely nasty.' Though being 'absolutely nasty' has gotten the new-and-improved Naomi a slot in the 2025 Money in the Bank Ladder match, it's going to take more than nastiness to clear a field that includes former WWE, NXT, CMLL, NJPW, Stardom and ROH Women's World Champions. Advertisement Asked to describe her fellow Money in the Bank competitors in a few words, Naomi assigns 'jacked' and 'Big mama' to Rhea Ripley, while recent call-up Stephanie Vaquer is 'demonic.' Former Money in the Bank Winner Alexa Bliss is 'fury,' according to Naomi, while she thinks of Giulia as 'beautiful madness,' like her moniker. Rounding out the field is 23-year-old prodigy Roxanne Perez, who Naomi describes as '[a] baby, straight out of the womb.' If Naomi can outwit, outlast, or simply out-climb her five fellow competitors, she'll earn the Money in the Bank contract – a briefcase containing paperwork for a guaranteed title shot any time, any place in the next 365 days. A Money in the Bank winner can attempt to cash in on any champion of their choosing, and Naomi has her sights set on current WWE Women's Champion, Tiffany Stratton. 'I want the big championship, especially because Tiffany has made it so difficult for me,' she says. 'When I was going after the championship, she made my life hell, and I haven't forgotten about that.' Advertisement Though cashing in on Stratton would be long-overdue payback for Naomi, it would also be her first time hold a singles title in WWE since 2017. 'I've really only held a championship every five to six years throughout my career,' she reflects. 'This time, I think it's been seven or eight, if I do win a championship again. To me, it's always about the journey, about getting there and earning it. I never want it if it's not deserved or earned. Time will tell this go around, if I can continue to keep up this momentum as the Caution Queen.' Cashing in and taking Stratton's title would make Naomi one of three champions in her family: she's married to fellow wrestler Jimmy Uso, whose twin brother Jey Uso currently holds the WWE World Championship, while her cousin-in-law Jacob Fatu is the current WWE United States Champion. 'It's really a blessing,' she says. 'I get so much of my fuel and motivation from them, being married into this family and being surrounded by such amazing wrestlers who know so much about this business.' Advertisement 'It makes me want to be good – and I don't want to be the loser in the family! I don't want to be the only one who ain't bringing home no gold. They definitely inspired me to work as hard as they do, to be as good as they are, to represent the family dynasty I'm a part of.' As for what a Naomi Women's World Championship reign would look like in 2025, she says she's not picky regarding challengers. 'Everybody can get it. We have so much new talent out there, there are so many new matchups for me. I would love to get in there with Rhea [Rhipley] at this level, with Iyo [Sky] at this level. Becky [Lynch], as long as she and I have been here, me and Becky ain't ever really had to square up in a championship-level match, and she's definitely still one of the top-tier women in our division.' 'Bayley is one of my best friends,' she continues. 'I haven't really gotten to talk to her much and explain the situation, but we'll see where Bayley lies and hopefully I can get her on my side. There's so many – Roxanne, Giulia, all of these new women. I wouldn't mind going down to NXT and giving the girls down there a whooping and maybe helping a little.' Advertisement Vaquer, Perez and Giulia are all recent NXT call-ups, but Naomi says there are still plenty of women in WWE's developmental brand she has her eye on, including former NXT North American Champion Kelani Jordan. 'There's quite a few I love. What I really love are the girls that everyone thinks are so nice and sweet, because they get taken advantage of. Kelani [Jordan] is a perfect example. I'd like to take a couple of those girls under my wing and show them what happens when they flip the script and release the beast.' In October of 2024, Jordan teamed with then-tag-team champions Cargill and Belair, who visited NXT to compete in a six-woman tag match. Naomi, who was an active roster member at the time, says she didn't appreciate being swapped out of 'the big three,' the informal trio of herself, Cargill, and Belair. 'They've been shading me and doing little things like that the whole time, and when I finally did something about it, they couldn't handle it. They've been playing with me, they've been pushing me aside, they've been acting like I was replaceable in this dynamic, in this group. But now we see how the real star of the 'big three' is.' Advertisement Though she came up short against Cargill at WrestleMania, Naomi says their feud is far from over, and that she's eager to put their issues to bed in a stipulation match – the more violent, the better. 'Absolutely I want a stipulation match for Jade,' she says. '[Falls count anywhere? Last woman standing?] I'll take any of the above. What do you think she would get the most hurt in? What's the most brutal? Maybe a coffin match. I just want to be able to use my razor blades.' Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Fox News
Seth Rollins, Naomi win Money in the Bank ladder matches
WWE championships in the men's and women's divisions officially received top contenders at Money in the Bank on Saturday night. Seth Rollins and Noami won their respective matches and can cash-in an opportunity for a WWE championship any time and any place. Rollins climbed to the top of the ladder in his match, beating out LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, Andrade, El Grande Americano and Penta. Rollins got help from Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker to stymie some of the competition in the ring. Meanwhile, Jacob Fatu and JC Mateo tried to help Sikoa. But Fatu turned on Sikoa and put him through a ladder. Knight thought he had a clear opportunity, once again, to grab the Money in the Bank briefcase and potentially change the trajectory of his career. However, Rollins pulled Knight down and countered a BFT attempt. Rollins threw Knight into the ladder and then hit him with a Stomp. Rollins climbed up the ladder to retrieve the briefcase. It's the second time Rollins has won the match in his career. He was the first one to cash-in at WrestleMania when he did it at WrestleMania at WrestleMania 31. Now, he'll either have John Cena or Jey Uso in his crosshairs. The women's division was warned to "proceed with caution" as Naomi became an instant contender with her Money in the Bank win. There was really no odds-on favorite for the women's match. Naomi, Giulia, Roxanne Perez, Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss and Stephanie Vaquer had great shots at winning. Vaquer may have been at a disadvantage after being in three matches in 24 hours, including a tag-team match with Lola Vice at Worlds Collide. Ripley and Bliss were among the final two to climb the ladder, but Naomi came into the ring and disrupted their momentum. Naomi tipped the ladder over, sending Bliss crashing to the mat and Ripley onto another ladder. Naomi climbed the ladder and grabbed the briefcase for the win. She will now have either WWE women's champion Tiffany Stratton or women's world champion Iyo Sky in her crosshairs. She's also still in a bitter feud with Jade Cargill. It's sure to be an eventful year for both competitors. Here's how the rest of the card played out: Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
