6 Wrestling rumors we hope are true and 6 we hope aren't: SmackDown star removed from TLC due to injury, Surprising backstage plans for Royal Rumble 2020 

Welcome to this week's edition of wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't! It's going to be an interesting week in the world of WWE and wrestling in general. As of this writing, we're on the eve of TLC, but when you read this, the show will either be happening soon or be over.

As a result, we'll make sure that our TLC-talk is less. Either way, we can only be hopeful that the final WWE PPV of the year delivers like the final UFC PPV of the year did! As the year wraps up, there's a lot that's been happening in the world of wrestling.

From Royal Rumble to WrestleMania plans, the end of the year means that the road to WrestleMania will begin in a matter of time. It's going to be one and a half months and WrestleMania season will begin yet again. It's going to be exciting but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Without going much further, here are the wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't.

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#6. Hope is true: Chris Jericho trying to bring a former Intercontinental Champion to AEW

Chris Jericho has his eyes on a recently released WWE superstar. The name is none other than Luke Harper, and while nothing is in writing, AEW is the destination that many feel suits him best.

According to Tom Colohue on the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, Jericho has his eye out to try to convince AEW officials to sign Luke Harper.

“I’m not sure where he’ll personally choose, but I do know that Chris Jericho has spoken on his behalf quite recently in interviews that Luke Harper is someone that he is definitely interested in and wants to see at AEW. Obviously he doesn’t have final say, but that is someone of interest to him.”

We hope this is true because AEW would be a great destination for someone whose focus is more on the in-ring style.

#6. Hope isn't true: Braun Strowman's TLC angle canceled due to injury

Braun Strowman has been noticeably absent since Survivor Series 2019. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter originally reported that the plan was for him to face Shinsuke Nakamura at TLC for the Intercontinental Championship, but those plans were scrapped.

Dave Meltzer on WOR went on to report that the angle was canceled due to an injury that Strowman had suffered. Luckily, it's not a major one. Strowman's TLC match was scrapped as a result:

"The other one is Nakamura and Braun Strowman. Braun Strowman is hurt. Yeah, they were supposed to do the angle on Friday but Strowman got hurt and they couldn't do the angle. That was on the card a week ago and Braun got hurt. One person told me back spasms, but the official company line is that he's got a hip injury that's not serious and it's only a couple of days. But he missed all the weekend house shows.

We hope this isn't true, but in all likeliness, it is because Strowman seemingly confirmed having a back injury on Instagram.

#5. Hope is true: NXT star to get a push to feud with Becky Lynch

From the look of things, Becky Lynch will be RAW Women's Champion until WrestleMania 36. While the rumors suggested that Ronda Rousey could be Lynch's opponent, it doesn't look like WWE will be too hopeful about it.

While there's still a large possibility, one feud that was teased last month was Becky Lynch vs Shayna Baszler in the build to Survivor Series. However, they couldn't have that feud mainly because of Bayley's involvement in the match. As of now, Lynch is feuding with the Kabuki Warriors and Tom Colohue said that the spinoff of that is expected to be Becky Lynch defending the RAW Women's Championship against Asuka at Royal Rumble 2020.

Shayna Baszler is currently feuding against Rhea Ripley on NXT and could be booked to lose the title soon, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He further stated that Baszler is due for a move to RAW and could be Becky Lynch's feud in the near future.

We hope this is true because it would be an early delivery of a teased feud last month.

#5. Hope isn't true: Potential backstage Royal Rumble plans

Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Live that the backstage plan is likely to have 10 spots for each of the three brands. We don't believe this is a good idea. He also revealed that WWE could potentially be stopping Takeover events on PPV weekends.

Well, the idea for the Royal Rumble, and this was a while ago, but the plan was Royal Rumble, men’s and women’s, there will be 30 spots, 10 spots to RAW, 10 spots to SmackDown, 10 spots to NXT. That was the plan.

I mean I can’t imagine the Royal Rumble being won by an NXT Star to challenge at a takeover, I mean you could do that if you wanted to but I would expect that a RAW and SmackDown wrestler would win so then you’d have the championship match at WrestleMania, but, you could also have the NXT individual challenge for the NXT title at WrestleMania because they’re not doing the Takeover events on PPV weekends anymore.

So it doesn’t look like there is going to be a Takeover at WrestleMania weekend. So you could say, if an NXT star wins the Royal Rumble, they will get a Championship match against the NXT Champion at WrestleMania.

We hope neither of these rumors is true because 10 spots for NXT feels a bit too much as they already have enough stars on both RAW and SmackDown. Also, stopping NXT Takeover events on PPV weekends will only take the spotlight away from the brand.

#4. Hope is true: NXT plans for WrestleMania 36

You would have noticed in the last couple of months that NXT has gotten a bigger push than it ever has before. Not only was there the entire crossover at Survivor Series but contrary to expectations, the yellow and gold brand came out on top of it all, dominating RAW and SmackDown to a score of 4-1-2 respectively.

Some rumors were floating about that NXT may not even have a Takeover at WrestleMania weekend, but we feel that's a bit unlikely. What is likely, however, is the recent WrestleVotes rumor that NXT will have a big part in WrestleMania 36.

This would likely mean a big showing at the grandest stage of them all, with either a crossover match in the works or an NXT Championship match. The tweet said:

We hope this is true because it feels like something that's a long time coming. While we love the idea that they get their showing one night before and always steal the show, having an appearance at WrestleMania will only make the brand a much bigger deal.

#4. Hope isn't true: WWE forced to book short match due to Seth Rollins' injury

Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens was supposed to be on the TLC card but it's not due to Rollins suffering a minor injury - but in our opinion, it's good that it wasn't on the PPV in the first place. For one, the story of his heel turn is far too big to have an impromptu match and it's an important match and story for both Owens and Rollins.

However, there was one bad thing that came off it recently. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the injury to Rollins scrapped his match against Cedric Alexander. That along with the divorce court segment on RAW going on too long meant that The Viking Raiders vs The Street Profits was a match that came off as a bad one because of it.

According to WON, the match went on for only 3 minutes but was scheduled for a full 15. We hope this isn't true because it's a shame that two top-level teams didn't get a fair display on live TV.

#3. Hope is true: Daniel Bryan requested to delay Bray Wyatt feud

Many wondered why The Miz replaced Daniel Bryan in the Bray Wyatt feud after Bryan was written off TV. According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, the reason behind it is that Daniel Bryan himself pushed to delay it as he felt that TLC would be too soon to have a rematch.

The opening segment was supposed to be Miz TV with Daniel Bryan but Daniel Bryan has now disappeared and you know the idea is when he got all his hair pulled off, you know, it’s supposed to be a mystery now on what happens. So he’s out of the PPV.

Originally it was going to be Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan, and Daniel Bryan himself was actually pushing to delay it, you know he didn’t want to as he thought this PPV would be too soon. And I guess he is pretty hands-on with his story, which, if I was him, I would be too because I won’t want these people messing with my stories.

Bryan is one of the few superstars with creative control and we hope this is true because The Miz in his spot makes perfect sense and Bryan deserves the rest while the story can play out organically. It works out well for everyone.

#3. Hope isn't true: Reason why Mike and Maria Kanellis weren't released

Mike and Maria Kanellis have been in a tricky situation over the last few months. Mike Kanellis reportedly requested his release when he was in a troubled phase with his pill-addiction problem.

To add to it, the couple signed a contract right before Maria Kanellis announced her second pregnancy, which led many to believe that they cheated the company - something that Maria has vehemently denied.

The reality is that there are laws protecting her from being released and Bubby Ray Dudley revealed on Busted Open Radio that the company didn't release them because they wanted to get their money's worth out of them.

“I heard rumors, and not internet rumors and dirt sheet rumors. I’ve heard talk of some scuttlebutt amongst the boys that Mike and Maria might have misled the WWE when their new contracts were signed. I don’t know this for a fact but I’m saying maybe the WWE didn’t want to release them because I want to keep them [and get] their money’s worth out of them

We would completely understand WWE's perspective in this scenario, but we hope this isn't true because it's too complicated a situation where nobody wins at the end.

#2. Hope is true: Paul Heyman's favorite five

Paul Heyman's influence on RAW has been felt and had it not been for him, we likely wouldn't have seen the Seth Rollins heel turn to begin with. There has been an attempt to take a different direction and whether we like to admit it or not, most of the episodes of RAW in the second half of the year have been much-improved from years before.

On the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that there are five superstars who Paul Heyman has taken a particular liking to.

"I know the guys Paul Heyman likes. Now the Street Profits/Viking Raiders thing, I don't have an answer to why that happened, I was like absolutely, when that thing was over, I was just looking at the TV and ready to go like, alright, what the hell did I just watch? I didn't get that at all.

"But you know, his guys are The Viking Raiders, Aleister Black, Humberto Carrillo, Buddy Murphy. They were all getting something."

We hope this is true because all of these names are ones with a lot of talent and deserve to get pushed heavily.

#2. Hope isn't true: A bit of bad news for Luke Harper

There's a bit of bad news for Luke Harper that comes with the good news of him being released. As you probably know, Luke Harper requested his release in the early quarter of 2019 and it backfired on him as the company didn't grant his request.

It took until December for them to pull the trigger on releasing him (and Sin Cara) and unfortunately for Harper, the release means that he's going to have to go 3 full months without work, according to WON.

If you’re wondering when you’ll next be able to see Luke Harper wrestle, WWE confirmed to The Observer the talent released on Sunday are under 90 day non-competes.

He's been out of action long enough as it is, which would make one imagine that he would be itching to get back in the ring. That's the reason why we hope this isn't true. However, the positive side is that Harper can use the time to get in better shape and improve further.

#1. Hope is true: Backstage news on more big releases coming soon

Following the releases of Sin Cara and Luke Harper, the big question was who would be next on that list. According to WON, the belief is that more releases are coming:

Regarding releases, within the company the belief is that there are more coming. But these things change rapidly, as for so long it was nobody getting released, then it was if they aren’t happy let them go, and then still, nobody was getting released. It is notable that everyone released was 39 or older except for Albert Hardie Jr. (ACH/Jordan Myles)

Tom Colohue told Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions that it all boils down to those who feel they're more valuable than what the company presents them as:

“There are a number of people that the WWE will not let go and there are a number of people who they won’t let go because they are too valuable, whereas at the moment the people who were released were considered not valuable enough.

“So I think people who feel themselves that they are not too valued or do not feel valuable will be looking at this as an opportunity, and that’s the information that I’ve been getting.”

We hope these rumors are true because underutilized superstars should get their release. There are so many more options for wrestlers today outside WWE.

#1. Hope isn't true: An injury canceled a major Kofi Kingston storyline

Fans were surprised by how Kofi Kingston was handled following his ten-second loss to Brock Lesnar on the SmackDown FOX debut. Tom Colohue initially reported that there was a great storyline being planned for Kofi Kingston, but an injury to Xavier Woods means that the plans were canceled.

Colohue stated that the storyline would see Kofi Kingston become the weak link of The New Day.

“The plan was for Kofi to be the weak link in New Day. He’d lose matches and he’d do a lot of stuff to make you realize he’s not actually okay. We’re not talking heel turn or anything like that. He’d still be Kofi. He’d just be angry and out for revenge.”

A source within WWE has explained to me that the partnership of Xavier Woods and Big E would be the one to find success again, leaving Kofi to take some time to find himself. Unfortunately, due to the injury to Xavier Woods, that storyline has been abandoned for now at least.

We hope this isn't true because it would have been a fantastic storyline and we hope that they can run it once Woods is back from injury.