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Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. It's been an interesting week in the world of wrestling, and though the WWE rumor mill was light, there's a lot to get into:
#5 Hope is true: WWE's targeted date for Roman Reigns vs The Rock
The Rock admitted a few years ago that he quietly retired from WWE in 2013 even though there were talks for a WrestleMania 30 match against Brock Lesnar and a WrestleMania 32 main event match against Triple H.
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Neither panned out due to various circumstances, with the primary one reportedly being his insurance company not letting him step in the ring and risking an injury again. The last time he was in the ring at WrestleMania 29 against John Cena, a major injury caused a massive delay to the shooting of Hercules and reportedly cost millions of dollars.
Either way, even though we predicted that The Rock may never get a proper retirement match, WWE still wants to get one big-money match out of him. That would be against none other than the company's biggest full-time star - Roman Reigns.
With Roman Reigns' new character and evolution in 2020, there would be a lot more interest in a dream WrestleMania match, but given that crowds are still uncertain to return in 2021, WWE is reportedly targeting a Roman Reigns-Rock showdown for 2022, as per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
"According to those very close to the situation, Johnson has brought up the possibility of doing a match with Reigns in 2022, but that's a long way away, and he'd be 49 by that time. Obviously, this is all up to him; he wants in this year tomorrow, or next month, and he's in. But on the creative side, they've been told he's a no go.
We hope this is true because it would be an apt farewell match for The Rock and the timing would be right. It wouldn't make sense to have a match so big without any crowd present.
#4 Hope isn't true: Backstage news on Eva Marie's WWE return
Eva Marie hasn't been inside a WWE ring for over four years. It was in the early stages of WWE's Women's revolution and she was criticized for her in-ring ability or lack thereof, with many fans believing that she represented the older "Divas" era rather than the rising women's wrestlers on the NXT and WWE main roster.
As per PWInsider, Eva Marie is listed as a member of WWE's roster internally:
PWInsider.com can confirm Marie is listed as a member of the company's roster internally but has not been officially assigned to a brand. She has been seen several times in Orlando at the WWE Performance Center since September.
Times were changing back in 2015 and WWE had only begun to put an emphasis on women's wrestling. From her days in NXT, Eva Marie was criticized for not fitting in, but her WWE main roster call-up in 2016 proved to be promising.
She was a part of an entertaining storyline with Naomi and was surprisingly picking up momentum, only to get suspended for violating WWE's Wellness Policy. After that, she was quietly taken off TV and left WWE a year later.
We hope this isn't true because she doesn't seem to fit into an entirely new roster. Perhaps she will have value on the character side, but the level of women's wrestling has improved drastically in WWE in the last four years.
#4 Hope is true: WWE's plans for Charlotte Flair's return
Charlotte Flair has been absent for nearly half of 2020. For most of her five-year WWE main roster career, she has been the centerpiece of the women's division. Becky Lynch's rise in 2019 saw her take a back seat from that top spot, but success hasn't eluded her, even in 2020.
Charlotte Flair became only the second two-time NXT Champion when she defeated Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 36. Once she lost the title to Io Shirai, Charlotte Flair took a hiatus to have surgery done as well as other outside projects.
According to ITR Wrestling, Charlotte Flair requested that WWE puts a long-term plan in place for her return, and she seemingly got her wish:
"The plans for the return of Charlotte Flair are already locked in. Sources say The Queen insisted long-term plans were laid out before she returned to TV and it seems as though she has gotten her wish."
We hope this is true because that's the best way to re-introduce a Superstar like Charlotte Flair to WWE programming.
#3 Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon is reportedly mad at some of WWE's "big guys"
There have been quite a few WWE Superstars who were deemed unsafe over the years. Even top stars and veterans like Seth Rollins were once criticized for injuring their opponents, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that less-seasoned Superstars have been criticized.
However, this criticism happened from the man who calls the shots in WWE - Vince McMahon. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon reportedly "threw a fit" over the working ability of some of WWE's "big men" and sent them back to the Performance Center to train under Adam Pearce and Drew Gulak:
"Vince McMahon threw a fit about the working ability of certain guys on the main roster, mad in particular about some of the big guys. He’s ordered some of the guys back to the Performance Center with two classes per week with Adam Pearce and Drew Gulak as instructors."
We hope this isn't true because it seems abrupt, although it isn't the worst idea. Some of the names are a bit surprising, and we'll get right to that.
#3 Hope is true: The reason why Otis was sent to the WWE Performance Center
Among the names who were sent back to the WWE Performance Center was Otis, which was a bit of a surprise. While it wasn't the most surprising name on the list, Otis has been one of WWE's breakout stars in 2020.
It has been clear that Vince McMahon was among Otis' biggest supporters, and he wouldn't have been in such an important WrestleMania storyline and a Money in the Bank winner otherwise.
However, he has been sent back to the WWE Performance Center and a report on Fightful Select stated that there's no actual heat on Otis, but it's more about refining his in-ring safety.
Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:
It has been revealed that while Otis is a well-liked figure backstage, there were a few spots in recent months that drew the attention of the officials seated at Gorilla Position. The belief is that Otis can be safer in the ring. It was added that there is no heat on Otis in association with the assessment of his in-ring safety. It seems like WWE just wants to plug all the loopholes and ensure that Otis becomes a more reliable and refined in-ring performer.
We hope this is true because it would be surprising if there was heat on Otis. This doesn't seem to be the worst reason to send someone back to the WWE Performance Center
#2 Hope isn't true: Candice LeRae injured in her WWE WarGames match
Candice LeRae had a successful outing at WWE NXT Takeover: WarGames, leading her team to victory in the WarGames match. It marked her second victory in WarGames. The last time she competed, she was a babyface, but this time, she led a heel team comprising of Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez, Indi Hartwell, and Toni Storm.
While the night was successful for Candice LeRae, the WWE NXT superstar suffered an arm injury. Sean Ross Sapp reported that Triple H stated that Candice LeRae was having her arm checked by the WWE medical staff.
Sportskeeda's Shubham Roy wrote:
"According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com, Triple H confirmed in the post-TakeOver conference call that LeRae was getting her arm checked out, and the injury is feared to be a break. Later, Candice LeRae's husband, Johnny Gargano shared a photo of himself, Austin Theory, Candice LeRae, and Indi Hartwell. In addition to Hartwell having a neck-brace on, Candice LeRae's right arm can be seen hanging in a sling. This image furthers the rumor of her possibly breaking her arm."
We hope this isn't true, but it appears to be. We can only hope that the WWE star didn't suffer a bad injury and that it heals quickly.
#2 Hope is true: WWE planning three big matches for WrestleMania 37
By the end of January, WrestleMania season will begin again. It feels like the year in WWE has gone by quicker than most, but there's a lot to look forward to WrestleMania 37.
For one, the originally-planned SoFi stadium may not even be the venue for WrestleMania 37. As for the matches, WrestleVotes reported that WWE is planning three major matches on the card:
We hope this is true because two of them are great matches. It makes sense that WWE would want to try Roman Reigns vs Goldberg again, but it's not a particularly appealing match, especially when there are WWE Superstars with whom Roman Reigns could have a better match.
With that said, there is an appeal to casual fans who consider Goldberg to be a big name. Last year, WWE had to replace Roman Reigns with Braun Strowman due to personal reasons - making it the first WrestleMania that Roman Reigns missed since his debut in 2012.
#1 Hope isn't true: WWE has no concrete plans for Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37
While the last report stated that there are talks of Roman Reigns vs Goldberg at WrestleMania 37, a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that WWE has no concrete plans for Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37 despite it being just a few months away:
"Regarding the direction of Roman Reigns for WrestleMania, as of right now, in December, there is no name on the books, which some note is mind-boggling since in the past much of the Mania card would be done and all booking on television and PPV would be based on leading to that direction. Sometimes there would be a change, but usually the top stuff has a direction. That's the key when PPV revenue doesn't ebb and flow by millions of dollars in either direction based on having the right formula for Mania, the pressure for a direction isn't there and stuff feels thrown together as opposed to stories with a natural climax."
We hope this isn't true because it doesn't make sense for WWE to have no concrete plans for their top full-time star. He's the Universal Champion, and there was a time when Vince McMahon would plan WrestleMania main event plans for Roman Reigns months in advance. It's a big change from that, and hopefully, he has a solid opponent in place.
#1 Hope is true: Backstage reaction to Keith Lee being sent to the WWE Performance Center
Keith Lee is in an interesting position in WWE, but when rumors came out that he was on the list of Superstars to be sent back to the Performance Center, fans were baffled.
That appears to be the same reaction backstage in WWE as well. According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful. Sapp spoke to members of the WWE locker room who were baffled at the decision to send Keith Lee back to the Performance Center.
Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:
"Sean Ross Sapp spoke to several members of the locker room and the Performance Center, and they were all baffled by the decision to send Keith Lee back to the PC. Keith Lee is internally considered to be one of the better workers on the roster, and it has nothing to do with his size. It was explained that Keith Lee might have possibly gotten caught up with the group because of his size, or else he would not have been asked to report to the PC."
We hope this is true because it's hard not to be baffled about Keith Lee being on the list. Lee is a seasoned veteran and has been one of the better Superstars on RAW since debuting in the summer.
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