Backlash lived up to the expectations. A major portion of the WWE Universe was happy with how the pay-per-view went and these emotions were there to be seen on the Internet as well. While WWE was putting together a strong show on Sunday Night, the rumor mill was also busy buzzing about the speculations and rumors that were going around.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Paige was one of the major talking points this week around. After the release of Alberto Del Rio, there are a lot of questions about the future of Paige and this featured heavily in the rumor mill. There were some other rumors as well and here is a rundown on them.
1- Reason why Bo Dallas is getting a push
Bo Dallas getting a squash match on Monday Night Raw had caused chaos among the wrestling fans. Everyone started wondering about the motive behind this as it was a different Bo altogether. He had his new entrance music and a different persona altogether. Though all of it looks to be a positive booking, WWE is only building up Bo so that he can be squashed by Bin Wang.
Bin Wang, as noted earlier, is the first Chinese superstar for WWE and he is set to face off against Bo Dallas soon. WWE wanted to make Bo look strong ahead of the showdown so that Wang gets some kind of momentum when he defeats the former Social Outcast.
2- Status of Paige up for discussion
There are a lot of conflicting rumors making rounds about Paige. Some suggest that she is on her way out of the company whereas others suggest that Paige is here to stay for the time being. With the release of Alberto Del Rio, the former rumors have gathered steam. There were reports which suggested Paige is hiring legal representation to sort out the mess.
The Paige-Del Rio situation is apparently similar to what happened with AJ Lee and CM Punk but Paige is not expected to face legal actions. The rumors also suggest that WWE has no plans for Paige even after her suspension runs out.
3- Former WWE superstar joining Ring of Honor?
Cody Rhodes has confirmed about his appearance for Ring of Honor in the near future and apparently, the promotion might boast about having another former WWE superstar in the form of Wade Barrett. The real life Stu Bennett had left WWE when his contract expired back in June and would indeed turn out to be a huge addition to Ring of Honor.
After leaving WWE, Bennett had mentioned that he will be taking a break from the wrestling industry and would only be "back in the ring when the time is right". If Bennett is returning, after all, the chance of him taking up a wrestling role so soon would be surprising.
4- Cruiserweight division for SmackDown
While WWE is yet to roll out the Cruiserweight division for Monday Night Raw, they are already making plans to do the same for SmackDown. The huge success story of the Cruiserweight classic is indeed the main reason why such plans are being made. Despite the talks, the idea is still in its infancy stage and WWE will only go forward if the Cruiserweight division on Raw receives a positive response.
WWE is still looking for names to fill the division on Raw. The trailer WWE released suggests the inclusion of names like Brian Kendrick and Cedric Alexander, but the entire lineup is still not sorted out. Gran Metalik, Akira Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, Cedric Alexander, Brian Kendrick, Tommaso Ciampa, TJ Perkins, Rich Swann, Noam Dar and Johnny Gargano are set to kickstart the division on RAW.
Some of these and many more from the independent circuit names could end up on Smackdown too if WWE decides to introduce a division for the blue brand.
5- The Randy Orton situation
Randy Orton was pulled out of Backlash in the last minute and it was due to his failure in the impact test. Orton had suffered a concussion during his match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam and such impact tests are given to athletes that suffer concussions. Orton needed ten staples to close the wound on his head and WWE expected him to be fit in time for Backlash.
This, however, did not happen and WWE had to replace Orton with Kane. The whole incident has hurt both Orton and Bray but it is Bray that had the worse impact as he needed something big. Orton is scheduled to have a rematch with Brock Lesnar this month itself.
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