Backstage Update On Previous Plans For Melina's WWE Return

The former Women's Champion was due to head to NXT earlier this year.

by Andrew Pollard
Melina 4
WWE

Earlier this year, rumours of Melina making a full-time WWE return began to swirl. While that return has yet to happen, there is now a little more insight on what was supposed to play out.

Speaking on Wade Keller’s PWTorch podcast, former TNA name Jonny Fairplay claims that Melina was meant to head to the NXT brand and be part of The Robert Stone Brand. According to Fairplay, Robert Stone – formerly Robbie E in TNA – told him this when the pair hung out a couple of weeks ago.

As the Survivor star told Keller:

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“I hung out with Robbie E two weeks ago and he has no idea what he’s going to do. His plan was to bring in Melina and manage in NXT. She had to have surgery or something. They’re not using the guy.”

The Robert Stone Brand has not been seen on NXT TV since October, with the group presently consisting of just Stone and Aliyah. Previously, Mercedes Martinez and briefly Chelsea Green were a part of the stable, although both left Stone in their rear-view mirror – Martinez for a short stint in RETRIBUTION, Green for a main roster move that has sadly been curtailed by injury.

Melina most recently wrestled this past February for New York Wrestling Connection, and before that she was a main presence on NWA Powerrr. In terms of her WWE tenure, the three-time Women’s Champion and two-time Divas Champion’s stint with the company came to an end in 2011 – although she made a one-off appearance on July 2019’s Raw Reunion special.

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Whether Melina is still destined for a WWE return, we’ll have to wait and see.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.