We've been waiting a long time to see Alexa Bliss back in a WWE ring following an extended hiatus for the birth of her first child. Rumours have been swirling about the former Women's Champion's future for months, and we've now learned that it was meant to take place on January 13.
According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, creative plans have been put on indefinite hold after WWE scrapped Bliss' return during what was only the second episode of RAW on Netflix.
It's said that she was going to be part of a storyline with The Wyatt Sicks - likely paying homage to the time she spent with the late Bray Wyatt - but, shortly before the show, the creative team was told to drop all plans.
Since then, The Wyatt Sicks have been moved to SmackDown (prematurely ending the faction's feud with The Final Testament) and, if Johnson is to be believed, Bliss reportedly isn't being factored in plans for the Women's Royal Rumble match either.
Whether she'll eventually join Bo Dallas' group on the blue brand remains to be seen, but they've somewhat faded into the background recently.
Dave Meltzer has since chimed in, claiming the issues may have come down to a contractual dispute between WWE and Bliss:
"So the deal with Alexa Bliss is she was supposed to be on the show in San Jose, and there’s a contract. They have not come to terms on a contract, but she was going to debut. The thing is, she was going to debut against the Wyatt Sicks, but the Wyatt Sicks have been moved to SmackDown, so it kind of made no sense for her to be on RAW but anyway, right now, she was expected to come back, and they’re just working out a contract deal. That’s where everything stands right."
Assuming things work out, we no longer have any idea what we'll see from the former Women's Champion upon her return. She hasn't competed in a WWE ring since facing Bianca Belair in a losing effort at the 2023 Royal Rumble.
"I probably won’t bounce back as fast as I hope," Bliss said in a 2023 interview addressing her in-ring future. "I’m going to get to working out and doing all that stuff and get to where I need to be, you know, to have time. [I’ll have] the first fundamental months with the baby before thinking about trying to rush back to work."
"Time away is always a good thing. When it comes to WWE, time away and reinventing a character and evolving yourself is the key to career longevity at WWE. So I always say, 'Time away is such a good thing because it gives people the time to miss you.'"
She added, "When you’re being seen on WWE three or four times an episode, you don’t really have anywhere to go with your character. So whenever you take time off, it’s always a good time to evolve and to keep going. And I’ve already been probably six or seven different versions of myself."
"And each time it’s done well with merchandise sales, with bookings and all that stuff. So I don’t really like to go backwards with my work. I always like to go forward."
Hopefully, we'll see Bliss back in a WWE ring in time for the Road to WrestleMania.