Pro wrestling manager and Survivor star Jonny Fairplay recently appeared on a PWTorch podcast and recalled how he had hung out with WWE NXT Superstar Robert Stone. Fairplay reportedly said former WWE Women’s Champion Melina was going to return to the company for a spot in NXT, to be managed by Stone in The Robert Stone Brand. It was also said that Melina may have undergone surgery.
This was the first we’d heard of Melina returning to the company since back in the fall. As we’ve noted, it was reported in September, via PWInsider, that Melina had signed a deal to return to WWE that same week. Melina denied the report on Facebook, and indicated that she would like to return, but had not signed. That was the last we heard of Melina possibly returning to WWE, until the recent quote from Fairplay.
In an update, I spoke with Fairplay this evening and he said his comments on the PWTorch podcast were misunderstood. He saw Stone two weeks ago at a charity event and they hung out, but he heard the Melina return reports on another podcast, and that’s what he was referencing to. Fairplay said he didn’t think he even brought Melina up to Stone, noting that Stone said he was anxiously waiting for WWE to put him with someone new.
Fairplay said the quote from his comments on the PWTorch podcast were two separate statements – one on hanging out with Stone, and another referring back to Melina. He acknowledged that the misunderstanding could’ve been his fault but he recalls taking a breath or a pause between the statements. According to Fairplay, this wasn’t a case where he said he went to Stone and was told about Melina, but where he said he went and hung out with Stone, then recalled the Melina news he heard on another podcast, and then continued his sentence on Stone from before.
There’s no word yet on if WWE still has plans to bring Melina back. The Robert Stone Brand has been off NXT TV since October following Aliyah’s loss to Toni Storm. Stone often teases potential acquisitions on Twitter, but the group is down to he and Aliyah these days. At one point Stone also had Chelsea Green and Mercedes Martinez.
Fairplay, who currently runs the Relity NSFW podcast and is active on Cameo, responded to the original reports in a tweet and reiterated that Stone did not tell him that he was set to manage Melina in NXT. You can see that tweet below.
Stay tuned for more on Melina possibly returning to WWE.
Just to reiterate, No. I didn’t say Robbie told me that he was managing Melina. I heard that prior. Robbie just said he was anxiously waiting for his next client. I heard the melina news weeks ago, NOT from Robbie E. But if I EXAGGERATE so much, why didn’t u contact me to confirm https://t.co/av0Bp2uXfY
— Jonny Fairplay (@JonnyFairplay) December 17, 2020
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