In today's WWE and AEW rumors rundown, Rhea Ripley might be ready to return at any time to WWE, which would be a huge boost for the Liv Morgan and Dominik storyline. Meanwhile, Ricochet's contract with WWE is officially expired and he is free and clear to join AEW. There is a new favorite to win the Men's Money in the Bank match and the relationship between TNA and WWE has been going so well, that it is expected that NXT stars will keep showing up in TNA and TNA stars will remain a part of NXT creative. In fact, when asked, one source said that creatively, "nothing was off the table."

Is Rhea Ripley Ready To Return To WWE?

Rhea Ripley has been out of action since shortly after WrestleMania 40 due to a shoulder injury, but WWE is reportedly ready for her return. According to Fightful Select, WWE has set up the storyline involving Ripley, Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio, and The Judgment Day so that Rhea can "slide in and return to her program whenever she's ready," even before she's cleared for in-ring action. There are at least several weeks' worth of television WWE can do without the need for Ripley to get physical. Fightful also noted that Ripley might be included in plans for SummerSlam, although it's uncertain.

WWE is getting close to needing Ripley for storyline reasons. Morgan caused Ripley's injury, leading to Rhea vacating the Women's World Championship. Liv won the title from Becky Lynch after interference from Dominik. Morgan has been trying to seduce Dom ever since and infiltrate The Judgment Day, using Finn Balor and Dom as paws in her chess game. Damian Priest revealed Rhea was reportedly furious about it this past Monday on Raw. The time seems right to get Rhea involved again.

Ripley has been out due to injury and also got married to Buddy Matthews. Her return will be a big moment and start the next big chapter in the storyline with Liv and Dominik. It now appears Balor will be a big part of things too.

Ricochet Now Technically A Free Agent

Ricochet is now a free agent and could join AEW at any time. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful (via Fightful Select) reports that Ricochet’s WWE contract has expired. Sapp cites sources in both WWE and AEW who note that they expect him to show up in AEW sooner rather than later. Early speculation, however, is that Ricochet is not expected to be Ospreay’s opponent at AEW All-In.

WWE had left things open-ended when they said that Ricochet was out indefinitely but teased he could return to seek revenge on Bron Breakker. Others reported that he might come back for one more match. That said, WWE has moved him to the Alumni Section of the WWE roster as of June 30. His fiancee Samantha Irvin is expected to continue with WWE.

Drew McIntyre: The Favorite To Win Money in the Bank?

Jey Uso has lost his position as the favorite to win Money In The Bank just three days before the event. He was the early favorite but Drew McIntyre has now taken his place as the storyline builds between McIntyre and CM Punk. Uso has dropped all the way down to fifth place, making his victory on Saturday seem unlikely. This week, Uso was heavily involved in the Wyatt Sicks and Chad Gable storyline. It's not clear if WWE will do more of that, but Uso's hiding under the ring when Nikki Cross came out is getting all sorts of social media attention.

The only entrant with worse odds than Uso is Carmelo Hayes. He was given +6,000 odds. There is some outside noise that AJ Lee might be part of the creative to cost McIntyre the match, considering he took her bracelet and she's been mentioned on WWE programming. That feels like a long shot.

On the women's side, Tiffany Stratton remains the frontrunner in the women's match, holding that status throughout the entire build.

TNA And NXT Relationship To Continue

Both WWE and TNA have been happy with the way their crossover appearances have been received by their respective fan bases. As per a report by PW Insider, TNA’s story with NXT is expected to continue at Slammiversary. When asked about what might be in the cards creatively and if there was a possibility of Wes Lee reuniting with The Rascalz, they were told “nothing is off the table”.