5 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 4 we hope aren't: former Universal Champion quietly turned heel, details on 'backstage mess' at WWE SmackDown tapings revealed

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. It's the final one for November and the first since WWE Survivor Series 2020. Now that we're beginning on the road to WWE TLC, let's take a look at some of the rumors of the week that we hope are true, and those we hope aren't.

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#5. Hope is true: WWE quietly turns Braun Strowman heel for his biggest RAW feud yet

Braun Strowman is a superstar who hasn't been able to maintain a consistent level of momentum in his WWE career. While only a few superstars have managed to maintain that level, the inconsistencies in WWE's handling of "The Monster Among Men" could be pointed out as a reason for the ups and downs that he continues to face.

2020 has been better than most years for Strowman. He finally won the WWE Universal Championship after defeating Goldberg at WrestleMania 36, and he held the title for four months before losing it at WWE SummerSlam.

After he was drafted to WWERAW, Strowman's next role was being a player on the red brand's Survivor Series team, which went on to win in a clean sweep against SmackDown.

On the November 23rd episode of WWE RAW, Strowman was taken out of potential WWE Championship contention after he attacked authority figure Adam Pearce. Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio noted that the segment was meant to turn Strowman heel. Sportskeeda's Vatsal Rathod wrote:

On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Braun Strowman will be a heel going forward on Monday Night RAW and his segment and attack on Adam Pearce this week was probably the beginning of his heel run. It is interesting to note that it was recently reported that Braun Strowman was internally listed as a babyface by WWE.

We hope this is true because being a heel is a good position, given that Strowman is rumored to be WWE Champion Drew McIntyre's WWE TLC opponent. This program would mark his biggest feud yet since his return to RAW. Even if there is no actual plan for him to win the WWE title, a good match could help him maintain momentum heading into 2021.

#4. Hope isn't true: Backstage mess at WWE SmackDown tapings this week

While a lot of WWE fans seem to think that SmackDown has largely been a better show than RAW in 2020, the blue brand is no exception to having chaos backstage, with regular reports stating that several changes occur hours into the show. Some fans would argue that the 27th November episode of SmackDown was one of the weaker ones in recent memory.

Rumors about Vince McMahon making last-minute changes to the script are not uncommon, but according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter via an internal source in WWE, this past episode of SmackDown was a backstage mess:

We got one report that Smackdown was a mess as the show was still being worked on a few hours ago. Nobody knew anything, which is why nothing has been advertised. Vince McMahon arrived at about 12:30 p.m. Another person confirmed people not knowing anything until Vince came, but said that has been the case almost every week of late, and it's nothing new.

We hope this isn't true, especially if it's nothing new. Such situations typically reflect in the quality of the episode, so SmackDown would be better off with a more orderly environment backstage.

#4. Hope is true: WWE's Royal Rumble plans for Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns might be the perfect superstar to hold the WWE Universal Championship in 2020. Title runs from Bray Wyatt, Goldberg, and Braun Strowman were mostly underwhelming, but Reigns' return as a heel was the best thing that could have happened to SmackDown.

He excelled in a feud with Jey Uso, and his character has developed more in 3 months than it previously had throughout this WWE career. Compelling stories await Reigns' reign as the WWE Universal Champion, and given the direction of the November 27th episode of SmackDown, it seems like Kevin Owens will be the next challenger in line for the title at WWE TLC.

It's also worth noting that Daniel Bryan was attacked by Uso backstage during his match against Sami Zayn. This development might subtly hint at the likelihood that Bryan will also contend for the WWE Universal Championship down the line. According to Wrestlingnews.co, WWE's plans for Reigns at the Royal Rumble is to have a match against Bryan.

We hope this is true because we never got to see the Reigns-Bryan feud in 2019. With the roles reversed, fans could have a fun rivalry on their hands.

#3. Hope isn't true: Backstage news on the botched finish of the WWE RAW Tag Team title match

The New Day have been in a feud with The Hurt Business - a team who could very well end the WWE RAW Tag Team Championship reign of one of the most dominant tag teams in WWE history.

WWE likes to stretch their feuds out, and a dusty finish on the November 23rd episode of RAW was an indicator of this pattern. In the WWE RAW Tag Team title match, the original plan was reportedly to have The Hurt Business win, per Bryan Alvarez on WOR. Alvarez proceeded to explain that the double count-out was a botch that happened:

"I was told that the finish of the match was supposed to be that the Hurt Business would win via count-out, but they are supposed to call it like a shoot, and they didn't get in the ring fast enough, and so the referee called it a double count-out. Then The New Day, for some weird reason, they were all heelish last night. They start backing up the ramp celebrating that they defended the titles via double count-out, and MVP the heel cuts the promo saying, 'the fans don't want to see this, you're not gonna take that, are you? Get back in this ring, and let's restart it.' So yes, it was a botch, but it wasn't like a big time botch. It was just one guy who didn't get back in, so instead of a normal count out, it was a double count-out."

We hope this isn't true because such botches are always unfortunate situations that lessen the match quality. Luckily, it didn't cause too much chaos or confusion.

#3. Hope is true: Why WWE kept Big E and Lars Sullivan away from WWE Survivor Series

Big E and Lars Sullivan are two superstars who WWE seems to be focusing on with an eye towards the future. While Sullivan's push has also come with a few out-of-ring controversies, Big E has been having a fairly smooth transition in his solo run on SmackDown.

These two superstars were also notably absent from WWE Survivor Series. According to Dave Meltzer on WOR, Big E was removed from the pre-show Battle Royal, and WWE felt no need to put either man in this match on there. The company also didn't want them to be involved in the clean sweep defeat that the SmackDown men's team suffered. Sportskeeda's Vatsal Rathod wrote:

Dave Meltzer also stated that since WWE is planning to push both Big E and Lars Sullivan, they wanted to protect both of them instead of having them compete on the pre-show. This could also explain why neither of them was on Team SmackDown for the pay-per-view as the plan was for RAW to get a clean sweep and WWE possibly didn't want to make Big E and Lars Sullivan look weak.

We hope this is true because it's better for WWE to protect superstars they intend to push without ruining their momentum.

#2. Hope isn't true: Why WWE chose Brock Lesnar to break The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak

WWE's, or rather Vince McMahon's, decision to have Brock Lesnar end The Undertaker's streak six years ago remains a topic of hot debate. The fact that this monumental moment happened in such an underwhelming match made it worse, as many fans wanted to see the streak survive for some dream matches. Many fans still don't understand why WWE went in this controversial direction.

Dave Meltzer, reflecting on The Undertaker's career on WON, explained WWE's reasoning behind the decision to have Lesnar end The Undertaker's streak at WrestleMania 30:

[Vince] McMahon's idea for the Lesnar win, leading to Reigns getting revenge for the fans on the guy who broke the streak idea fell apart when the crowd was so against Reigns in the build for Lesnar in 2015.

We hope this isn't true, but ultimately, it appears to be the case, given how Roman Reigns was pushed in 2015. While Reigns has had a career resurgence in WWE in 2020, there's no denying that his feud with Lesnar have had a greater impact on his star power if it happened during the height of his unpopularity.

#2. Hope is true: What The Undertaker said after his final WWE appearance

The Undertaker's retirement in WWE has been a subject of many jokes over the last few years, but in 2020, it finally feels like the legend's career is over. At WWE Survivor Series, on his 30th anniversary, The Undertaker ended his career where he started it. He said farewell to the WWE Universe and stated that it was time for him to rest in peace.

While it was a sad moment, many WWE fans thought that the retirement should have happened a long time ago. Given how The Undertaker had only a few memorable matches in the last seven years, this argument makes sense.

Paul Davis of Wrestlingnews.co reported that The Undertaker went around backstage after WWE Survivor Series and said that he's well and truly done with his in-ring career in WWE:

Paul Davis from WrestlingNews.Co is now reporting on what exactly happened backstage at Survivor Series. According to Davis, The Undertaker was telling folks in the backstage area that he is done with wrestling. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is not expected to request The Phenom to come back for a match again. Reports further state that it wasn't easy for Vince McMahon to let go of the character, but it dawned on him that it's finally time to let The Phenom ride off into the sunset.

We hope this is true because it's best for The Undertaker's legacy to say goodbye after three decades. Moreover, the Boneyard match against AJ Styles was arguably the perfect match to conclude his WWE career.

#1. Hope isn't true: Uncertainty over Braun Strowman's next WWE feud

Strowman quietly turned heel on RAW after he assaulted, Adam Pearce, but he's currently penciled in to challenge for the WWE Championship and feud with Drew McIntyre.

According to Dave Meltzer of WON, there is still some doubt about Strowman challenging for the WWE title, and there were also stories going around about an injury for "The Monster Among Men," so it's possible that he won't be in the marquee match at WWE TLC:

''There was a story going around that Strowman was said to have been injured in the Survivor Series and they did a suspension angle on Raw to write him off, but he was not on the internal injury list and many believe McIntyre vs. Strowman was still set even though the company did follow up Raw with an announcement of a suspension for him attacking Adam Pearce.''

We hope this isn't true because he would be a perfect opponent to challenge McIntyre and further legitimize the champion's reign.

#1. Hope is true: WWE's interesting plans for The Usos

Jey Uso has been an integral part of WWE programming in recent months. While Jimmy Uso's injury would likely have kept his brother sidelined for a while, Roman Reigns' return saw Jey Uso become a key figure on SmackDown.

After feuding with Reigns, Jey has aligned with "The Tribal Chief." Jimmy is expected to do the same thing when he returns. According to Wrestlingnews.co, the idea behind the subtle changes in Jey's character is to eventually help elevate him and his brother:

WWE also plans on changing Jey Uso's entrance and theme song soon. It was noted by a WWE source close to the situation that while the primary objective is to elevate Roman Reigns, the idea is also to get Jimmy and Jey Uso to the next level as part of the storyline.

We hope this is true because The Usos still have time to take it to the next level in WWE. It's going to be fascinating to see how the dynamic of Reigns' "Tribe" shifts once Jimmy returns to WWE.