Lio Rush Pushes Back on Reports That He Has Backstage Heat With WWE

Reports circulated this week that Lio Rush has rubbed some people in WWE the wrong way, causing backstage heat for himself in recent weeks.

However, Rush himself push back on those reports on Sunday morning with a series of tweets. He specifically called the reports “ridiculous,” though he did not push back on any specifics of the reports. He alluded to the fact that he is driven and hungry to push himself forward, rather than being complacent.

“Some of the stuff that I read after getting tagged in on these ‘dirtsheets’ are ridiculous. But since y’all are recording my every move. Put this one in your newest article for me. Where I’m from, I was taught to value hard work, not complacency. … Push and believe in yourself past expectations other people have made for you. Put your family and God first before anything. Remain humble, but stay hungry. Fight for the things you believe in and never apologize for being you. Spread the word.”

This wasn’t the first time that Rush has responded to reports. He sent out a statement on his Twitter account on Thursday.

Rush has been paired with Bobby Lashley in recent months. Lashley wrestled a dark match at Monday Night RAW in Des Moines, Iowa this past Monday night, but Rush did not appear with him.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter spoke of Rush’s alleged backstage heat in this week’s issue, noting that Rush is a very confident individual which has rubbed some people the wrong way. He has reportedly had no problem telling people backstage that he believes he should be positioned in a more important spot on the show, going so far as to say he should be one of the top guys on the brand. While this is typically the type of attitude WWE likes to see out of their stars (they have always thrived on confident, borderline cocky stars), apparently the way in which he has expressed his confidence to others is what has lead to his present standing among some backstage.

More recently, a report surfaced that there was reportedly an incident between Rush and Finn Balor. Fightful Select reported that Rush insists on having his wife with him at all times, including during rehearsals, and Balor had suggested that was maybe not the best approach and may reflect negatively in Vince McMahon’s eyes. The report notes that Rush did not take kindly to those words and the two had some words.