4 Wrestling rumors we hope are true and 4 we hope aren't: WWE Superstars unhappy with Vince McMahon's decision, Brock Lesnar's return storyline revealed?

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. The biggest story of the past week was undoubtedly the set of WWE releases, of which Aleister Black and Braun Strowman were the two biggest names. Names like Lana and Ruby Riott getting released took some fans by surprise as well.

The message it sends is that nobody is too big to be released by WWE minus a few stars. They've done enough in the last decade to ensure that the company name is bigger than any superstar performing on a full-time basis.

This week's rumors cover the releases and the backstage reason behind them, Hell in a Cell plans for Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar's return, and some more backstage notes:

#4. Hope is true: WWE Superstars not happy with Vince McMahon's decision

Vince McMahon continues to make bold decisions

WWE is looking to get back to how things were, with a live tour set to be scheduled from mid-July. With live crowds returning, perhaps the most crucial aspect of WWE TV will be put back in place.

According to PWInsider, a new Vince McMahon edict is that talent needs to take part in drills and matches to sharpen their in-ring work:

“PWInsider.com is told that the workouts could begin as early as next week with talents taking part in drills and perhaps even matches in order to make sure their ring work is sharper. This is believed to be a Vince McMahon edict. The workouts would take place on days talents aren’t booked for TV tapings,” wrote Mike Johnson.

While the request is normal, there's a problem. Not every superstar lives in Orlando where the WWE Performance Center is located. The fact that it's mandatory hasn't gone down well with a lot of WWE Superstars, as per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Sportskeeda Wrestling's Vatsal Rathod wrote:

Now, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, some stars on the roster are not happy with Vince McMahon's instructions to do extra training in the Performance Center. It was noted that while the superstars living in Orlando don't have any issue with this as they are closer to the Performance Center, it's inconvenient for those living outside as it disrupts their routines.

We hope this is true because superstars outside of Orlando have every right to be unhappy. It's going to take a lot of logistical inconvenience for those who have to go out of their way to take part in the training.

#4. Hope isn't true: WWE's plans for Brock Lesnar's return

Brock Lesnar seems to be on the verge of returning to WWE after his profile was spotted on the active roster list on WWE.com. To add to it, WWE confirmed that SummerSlam will take place on a Saturday at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas - signaling huge plans for the second-biggest pay-per-view of the year.

Lesnar is reportedly expected to return at SummerSlam 2021, and that's a good idea. However, it may not be for the match that fans want. According to Dave Meltzer, an idea being floated around for Brock Lesnar's return involves Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman:

''The obvious angle right now for a Lesnar return is a storyline involving Heyman and thus Reigns,'' Dave Meltzer noted.

We hope this isn't true because there are a few reasons why this is a bad idea. Firstly, this is WWE's final chance to book a dream match between Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley on a big stage. Secondly, it's better to keep Lesnar and Reigns on separate brands since SmackDown is stacked enough already. RAW needs Brock Lesnar more. Thirdly, the rumored John Cena-Roman Reigns direction seems more promising than yet another Reigns-Lesnar match.

#3. Hope is true: Lana's work ethic before her WWE release

Lana was a superstar that grew on a lot of WWE fans. She had a main roster career that spanned seven years - a lot longer than several other superstars. She transitioned from manager to wrestler, and while she wasn't the best at any point, she earned the respect of the WWE Universe.

In 2021, she was teaming up with Naomi, and it came as a shock when she was a part of the recent release list by WWE. According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Lana was well-liked backstage and her work ethic was great:

"More details on Lana's time with WWE emerged to Fightful in the days following her release, and it would be noted that if Lana didn't have anything going on, it wasn't for lack of her trying," wrote Ross Sapp. "We've heard several stories about how she (and Naomi) would follow up about their creative and constantly try to ensure they were doing something."

We hope this is true because it's an affirmation that Lana's release from WWE had less to do with her and more to do with the company's lack of plans. Hopefully, she has a great career outside of WWE.

#3. Hope isn't true: The reason behind Aleister Black's WWE release

Aleister Black was arguably the most shocking name on the WWE release list, especially since he had just made his return on SmackDown recently. There was a lot of build and hype to his debut, with a new look, character, and even theme all ready.

Ultimately, he was released by WWE and his career with the company lasted around four years. Dave Meltzer of WON revealed that Vince McMahon reportedly didn't understand his or [Buddy] Murphy's style of wrestling, and that's one of the reasons why he was released:

''In the case of Black (Tom Budgen, 36, also known as Tommy End), there were issues with the writing staff but in the end, he and Murphy were both wrestlers where Vince McMahon was said to not understand their style of wrestling. There is no word on if these cuts will affect talks to bring his wife, Thea Trinidad Budgen back, which was the idea last week,'' Meltzer stated.

We hope this isn't true because Aleister Black could have been a huge star for WWE. But at this rate, missed opportunities for the company seem to be increasing.

#2. Hope is true: More NXT talent getting WWE main roster call-ups?

Vince McMahon backstage at NXT Takeover: Dallas in 2016

The WWE releases naturally left a big shock, and moves are being made to completely change things up in WWE. Unfortunately, it seems as though the talent released were viewed as unnecessary additional space to the roster (minus Braun Strowman, whose issues were reportedly contractual).

According to a report from Fightful Select, collective WWE officials came to the Performance Center to scout NXT talent, indicating that a series of call-ups to the WWE main roster are going to happen:

A new report from Fightful Select has indicated that following the recent departures, WWE is looking to add some new blood from NXT to replace them. Fightful has reported that several of WWE's top officials were visiting the Performance Center today to take a look at some training matches. They also had a look at the actual NXT show to begin the process of selecting superstars who would be moving to either RAW or SmackDown.

We hope this is true because apart from the releases, WWE programming needs fresh faces on the roster - particularly Monday Night RAW.

#2. Hope isn't true: WWE cuts to become a regular occurrence?

Mass WWE releases have occurred before, but in a lot of cases, several superstars had requested to leave the company. None got more coverage than the 2020 mass release on April 15th, as it was right in the aftermath of the global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exactly a year later, a fresh set of releases took place. The recent set of releases was shocking because it included big names, and some superstars who fans thought wouldn't get released by WWE.

According to Mat Men's Andrew Zarain, the WWE cuts are reportedly going to become a regular thing:

Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian was told more WWE releases are coming. These cuts will become “a regular thing” because WWE realizes the roster got bloated over the last few years.

We hope this isn't true because WWE's move of hoarding up talent from the wrestling world looks even worse in hindsight. Hopefully, all of the released stars can secure employment outside the company once their 90-day non-compete clause is done.

#1. Hope is true: Roman Reigns' "shoot" demand to WWE

In WWE, there seems to be a mentality that the two most important matches on a show are the first and last match. It's a sentiment that's easy to understand, especially since the first match sets the tone of the show, and the final match defines it.

For Roman Reigns, there is a demand that he has made to WWE and it seems to be set in stone. According to Dave Meltzer of WON, Reigns reportedly demanded that he either goes on first or last and nothing in between. It makes sense since every pay-per-view that he has been a part of since returning to WWE in 2020 (minus Royal Rumble) has seen him come on first, and mostly last.

“You put the most important first or last. That’s the big argument right now with Roman Reigns. Roman Reigns will either go first or last. He won’t go anywhere else, that’s a shoot. He doesn’t want to go (anywhere) but first, because that’s okay, or last, which is preferable because he’s the main event and he doesn’t want to go second or fourth or second from the top,” said Dave Meltzer.

We hope this is true because it's the best way to utilize Roman Reigns. In his current run, he is undoubtedly the best star to headline every pay-per-view, but that isn't always going to happen. In such cases, going on first is a good idea.

#1. Hope isn't true: Roman Reigns' WWE Hell in a Cell opponent

Finishing this week's edition, WWE has interesting plans for Roman Reigns at Hell in a Cell. In the month following WrestleMania 37, he got rid of Daniel Bryan from SmackDown, and Jimmy Uso has returned after over a year.

However, Jimmy hasn't complied with Reigns and acknowledged him as he hoped. It led to speculation that Jimmy Uso would face the latter at Hell in a Cell, similar to how his brother did less than a year ago.

However, Cesaro also challenged Reigns to a match at Hell in a Cell before Seth Rollins attacked him, leading to speculation that The Swiss Superman might challenge The Tribal Chief for the second pay-per-view in a row.

However, Dave Meltzer of WON reported that the current plan by WWE is for Roman Reigns to face Rey Mysterio at Hell in a Cell:

According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline, the current plan is for The Tribal Chief to defend the title against former WWE Champion, Rey Mysterio.

While it explains the Universal Champion assaulting Dominik Mysterio, we hope this isn't true because it's an underwhelming bout with a predictable result. While Cesaro wasn't going to dethrone Roman Reigns, the match had a sense of freshness to it.

Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE