WWE Rumor Roundup: Unhappy Superstar changes his mind about leaving the company, New character for Kofi Kingston - 8th December 2019

We're back again with another edition of Sportskeeda's daily WWE rumor roundup.

It's 'mass release' night in the WWE as four Superstars were let go by the company. However, a previously unhappy Superstar changed his mind about leaving and has now signed a new deal with WWE.

There were also promising updates about the potential returns of two major talents, who have been out of action for a long time due to serious injuries.

A veteran wrestler also revealed that he would be open to wrestling again inside a WWE ring for the first time in over 14 years.

Daniel Bryan's sudden disappearance was also highlighted in today's edition and it was surprisingly revealed that the Superstar himself pushed the company to take him out of the planned TLC match.

The biggest story of today's roundup involves WWE abandoning a very interesting storyline that featured Kofi Kingston.

The lineup is as newsworthy as they come, so let's not waste any more time and check them all out in detail:

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#5. Oney Lorcan changes his mind about leaving WWE, signs a new deal

Oney Lorcan was one of the many Superstars who had reportedly requested a release from the company. It was first revealed in mid-November that the NXT Superstar was unhappy with his position in the company and that he wanted to leave.

However, it seems that Orcan has worked out his problems with the WWE management and he has now signed a fresh new contract.

Lorcan took to Twitter and confirmed his contract extension by tweeting out the following in his typical uppercase style:

"I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT I HAVE AGREED TO A NEW MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT AGREEMENT WITH WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT MAY THE WRESTLING GODS HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOULS."

It's interesting to note that Lorcan had changed his name on his Twitter handle to Biff Busick, his indie name, when the reports of his displeasure with the company were made public.

The Superstar, who has been with the WWE since 2015, even targetted Triple H on Twitter when The Game came out and said that the talents should not be asking for their releases on social media.

Dave Meltzer even spoke about Lorcan's situation on the Wrestling Observer Radio. He speculated that the company may have just decided to keep Lorcan happy by offering him a good deal, which could also be to prevent him from going to AEW.

"He never mentioned anything. He kept it private, It did get out. Triple H answered a question from a reporter, then he got mad that 'you tell us not to go to social media' but essentially in his thinking went to social media."

"But whatever it was whatever the problem is, that tweet got him, put it this way, I give credit to Levesque for this, because he can go in there and play ego and go, 'f*** him, he's a nobody, insulting me on social media and it was an insult, or, it's like, we don't want him to go to AEW, he's a good wrestler, we're in a war, let's make him happy and they did the latter. A lot of promoters would have gone the other direction."

It was also reported that Lorcan may have signed a new long-term deal that could keep him in the company for the next 3 to 5 years.

The news of Oney Lorcan staying with the company comes on the heels of a mass release initiated by the WWE.

Luke Harper, Sin Cara, and Viktor and Konnor of The Ascension have all been allowed to leave the company.

#4. WWE nixes Kofi Kingston storyline and character change

Kofi Kingston's WWE Championship reign exceeded all expectations as the company booked him as a strong champion in his six-month run with the title.

However, the WWE veteran was forced to drop the title to Brock Lesnar in a 7-second squash match on the first SmackDown episode on FOX in October.

It has now been revealed by WWE insider and Sportskeeda's very own Tom Colohue that the company had planned a big character change for Kingston after his title loss.

The idea was for Kofi to gradually shift from being a happy-go-lucky guy towards a more angry and twisted character that was hell-bent on climbing back to the top.

Kingston was supposed to become the weak link of the New Day after the dropping the WWE title, which would have meant that he would lose many matches, and obvious hints would have been dropped of him not being okay.

While the plan was not to outrightly turn him heel, Kingston's gimmick was about a man who would be frustrated and vengeful.

The plan was changed after Xavier Woods suffered an untimely injury. It was revealed that the New Day was always slated to win the SmackDown Tag Team titles again, however, the belts would have been won by Big E and Woods with Kingston trying to recover from the crushing WWE title loss in the background.

“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.”

Read more about the story: Kofi Kingston storyline abandoned (Exclusive)

#3. Updates on the WWE returns of Nia Jax and Lars Sullivan

Lars Sullivan last wrestled on the episode of RAW in June and he reportedly suffered a 'fluke' knee injury that forced him to undergo surgery.

He was expected to return to the ring within 6 to 9 months. It now looks like the Superstar has already begun training for his highly-anticipated comeback.

Sullivan posted a video on Instagram in which the behemoth provided positive signs of his in-ring return:

The former NXT Superstar's main roster run has been riddled with problems which range from injuries to anxiety attacks. We hope a healthy Sullivan returns soon and has a sustained run on the main roster.

Nia Jax also posted a video on Instagram in which the Superstar was seen 'testing her new knees' out at the WWE Performance Center.

The former RAW Women's Champion has been on the shelf since April after she tore the ACL in both her knees.

Jax successfully underwent surgery and is now working towards a full-time return to the ring.

With Royal Rumble just around the corner, it would be safe to predict the eventual returns of both Jax and Sullivan in the early half of 2020 as the company would need all the talents on the road to WrestleMania 36.

#2. The backstage reason behind Daniel Bryan's 'disappearance'

Daniel Bryan was written off his current storyline with The Fiend on the most recent episode of SmackDown as The Miz was announced to face Bray Wyatt (not The Fiend) at the upcoming TLC PPV.

As revealed by Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Daniel Bryan pushed the WWE to delay his rematch against The Fiend as he felt that the TLC PPV came too soon.

Bryan is one of the select few Superstars who are pretty hands-on with their storylines. Bryan has a considerable amount of input in the booking decisions for his angles as well.

Meltzer explained:

"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."

The original plan was to have The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan in a Universal Championship rematch from Survivor Series at TLC.

However, the decision was made to stretch the angle out a little longer, and Miz, who has had an outside role in the feud between Bryan and Wyatt, was brought in for a non-tile match against the creator of Firefly Fun House.

#1. Lance Storm is open to the idea of in-ring return in WWE

Lance Storm is back in the WWE as a backstage producer and the 50-year-old veteran spoke about his new role and a potential return to the ring in an interview with WWE.

Storm, whose last match in the WWE happened in 2005, didn't rule out the possibility of working a few more matches in the company.

The former Intercontinental Champion, however, did admit that he would have loved to get back into the WWE ring when he was in his prime. He notably picked Shorty G as the Superstar he would love to have a match against.

"Never say never. But I would've liked to have been in my prime when I'm in there with him. I don't think I could keep up as well as I used to. But there are so many talented people here and it's just great. A lot of the people here, I've coached on different levels, back when I was doing guest spots at the PC, or way back when developmental was in Louisville, and I was teaching guys like Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Lashley. So, I've worked with a lot of these people before."

"I like working with everybody,. But I've been a big fan of Shorty G for a while. I became a fan of his in NXT. He's just so talented. He's one of those guys where it's like, 'Man, why don't our timelines line-up better?' I would've loved to have been in the ring with him in my prime."

Could we see Storm show up in next year's Royal Rumble match as a surprise entrant?