There is more than a month to go until WrestleMania 34, and WWE is taking care of a lot of business -- both preparing for the big show and what is to come for the company after its conclusion. With there always being plenty of news and rumors swirling around WWE each day, we here at CBS Sports are wrapping up as much of it as we can in today's story.

CM Punk takes a stand for Darren Young

Back in 2013 when CM Punk was a featured player in WWE, he made it a point to literally embrace Darren Young, who felt he took a risk in the locker room when he decided to come out of the closet as homosexual. As Young explained it during an conversation on Cerrito Live, as noted by Wrestling Inc., Punk had just finished a SummerSlam match against Brock Lesnar when he made it a point to stop Young in his tracks and give him a hug.

"Right after his match with Brock Lesnar, in catering, he was all iced up from head to toe, and he approached me in catering in front of everybody, and he told me to stand up. I stood up and he gave me a hug. And he said, 'I'm very proud of you for coming out and being so courageous. If you have any problem with anyone in the locker room because of this, you let me know and I will take care of this.' And he said this to me in front of everyone in catering. I was shocked! Here he just finished his match with Brock Lesnar and him coming up to me and showing me love was very moving to me."

Young also pointed out Randy Orton and Big Show as other WWE superstars who went out of their way to be supportive. Punk left WWE in 2014, and Young departed the company in 2017 following an injury and failed push involving Bob Backlund.

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More WWE news, rumors

  • WWE has made an offer to independent star Keith Lee to join sign with the company and begin training at the Performance Center in Orlando this May, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter [subscription required]. Meltzer also reported that WWE offered a similar opportunity to Walter, though the independent wrestler tweeted Thursday that is not actually the case. Though it is not clear whether Lee will accept the opportunity, the expectation is that he might. Let's hope WWE allows him to remix his awesome entrance theme if he does wind up with the company.
  • Following storylines booked at Elimination Chamber and on Raw this past Monday, it appears as if Ronda Rousey will be making her in-ring debut at WrestleMania in a mixed tag team match as she partners with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. This match has not been announced at this time, but it is a clear direction considering the storyline between Rousey and McMahon. Meltzer has previously reported that WWE hopes to make Rousey vs. McMahon a modern version of the Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon storyline that WWE rode during the Attitude Era.
  • NBC Universal announced this week that it will cut down on commercials by 10 percent across all of its primetime programming. In other words, you'll get about five additional minutes of Raw and SmackDown each week on USA Network.
  • As noted by Reddit user cpgoat, The Undertaker's recorded match total is currently 666. This is not really news or a rumor, but it's incredibly coincidental as WrestleMania 33 was supposed to be his retirement. That said, it sure seems like a match against John Cena is on its way this April.