4 Wrestling Rumors we hope are true and 3 we hope aren't: Post-WrestleMania opponent for Roman Reigns possibly revealed, Brock Lesnar involved in a backstage altercation with released WWE star?

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. The road to WrestleMania is fully underway, and the card for the grandest stage of them all is already beginning to shape up.

Two of the main events have already been announced, with many more matches expected to be a part of the "most stupendous" two-night WrestleMania in the company's history.

This week's rumors include the possible post-WrestleMania plans for Roman Reigns, the return of a record-breaking champion from injury, matches planned for WrestleMania 39 in 2023, a popular backstage figure being "frustrated", a former WWE champion losing his singles push, and more. Let's get right into it:

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#4. Hope is true: WWE's potential post-WrestleMania plans for Drew McIntyre

Roman Reigns' road to WrestleMania has been laid out. The ultimate match will be the main event against Brock Lesnar, although there is one big roadblock. The Elimination Chamber show at Saudi Arabia will see Reigns take on Goldberg for the Universal Title in a match that was originally supposed to happen at WrestleMania 36 in 2020.

Brock Lesnar, meanwhile, will look to reclaim the WWE Championship from Bobby Lashley inside the Elimination Chamber. He doesn't need to as he has already won the Royal Rumble, but him winning would cement the much-dreaded champion vs champion, title for title bout at WrestleMania 38.

Roman Reigns is fully expected to retain against Goldberg, while it remains unclear what lies ahead for The Beast Incarnate prior to WrestleMania. What we could have an idea of, however, is what lies ahead for Reigns should he beat Brock Lesnar at the grandest stage of them all. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Drew McIntyre is slated to be the next opponent for The Tribal Chief after his feuds with Goldberg and Brock Lesnar:

“Drew McIntyre was credited as Roman's challenger, but then his injury changed plans. The WWE, however, has not canceled his plans, in fact we have learned that in the coming months the two Superstars will surely have a feud." (H/T Spazio Wrestling)

We hope this is true, although it may guarantee that Drew McIntyre won't be the man to dethrone Roman Reigns. If the WrestleMania main event becomes a title vs title match, then there is a bigger chance for McIntyre to win either the Universal or WWE Championship later on.

#3. Hope isn't true: Brock Lesnar had a backstage altercation with a now-released WWE star?

If you've been following the WWE news and rumors lately, it's clear that the Men's Royal Rumble match caused a lot of chaos behind the scenes. This included a variety of ideas from different names and a clash of egos.

Brock Lesnar was ultimately the winner of the match, but even he had to jump through a few hurdles and eventually had WWE Chairman Vince McMahon take his side. The scapegoat for all of what happened seems to be Shane McMahon, who was quickly released and his rumored WrestleMania plans all axed by WWE.

According to WON, Shane McMahon had a mild backstage altercation in the form of numerous disagreements. The two men reportedly had to go back and forth between their ideas and weren't on the same page, with Vince McMahon eventually siding with The Beast Incarnate and eventually releasing Shane:

"There were also disagreements regarding he and Lesnar regarding the closing stages of the match, and Lesnar pretty much does exactly what he wants. But this led to people being told one thing and then another, between Shane’s ideas, what Lesnar wanted, and what Vince wanted. It was constantly changing all day and Vince was overruling Shane on his ideas and also agreeing with Lesnar,'' said Meltzer.

We hope the part about the backstage disagreements aren't true, although there seem to be too many rumors circulating for it not to be.

#3. Hope is true: An update on Xavier Woods' return to WWE

Xavier Woods was in a decent position in WWE before he got injured in late 2021. He has been out of action ever since, forcing the company to move Big E over to SmackDown.

While Big E's move to SmackDown has been unpopular for different reasons, The New Day has managed to maintain the same level of popularity. Before his injury, he was known as King Woods and is the latest King of the Ring winner.

He was almost in a full-fledged program against Unviersal Champion Roman Reigns, although that seemed to have been nixed for some reason. According to Fightful Select, Xavier Woods could be poised for an in-ring return soon. Sportskeeda's Liam Power wrote:

"It has now been noted by Fightful Select that the former SmackDown Tag Team Champion has been removed from WWE's internal inactive list, meaning he could be poised for an in-ring return in the near future."

We hope this is true because the road to WrestleMania is always a good time to make a return to the ring.

#2. Hope isn't true: Why Tyson Kidd hasn't been spotted in WWE lately

Tyson Kidd aka TJ Wilson is one of the most popular backstage producers in WWE today. He is often credited for the success of several women's matches, and also the progress of the women's division.

However, Wilson has reportedly not been around backstage, and things haven't been going too well. A report from Fightful Select revealed that there were conflicting things said about Wilson, making his status with the company unclear. Some reports backstage even stated that Wilson is no longer a producer in the company:

“A few weeks ago I had heard that TJ Wilson had grown frustrated. The reason I didn’t run a story on this is because I had heard conflicting things from people that work with him, that are close with him, the company itself. So one person who told me the information said, ‘heard he wasn’t there, he didn’t show up, wasn’t happy with how things were going, and he’s no longer there.’

A couple of weeks passed and Wilson wasn't even on any internal producer's list. Women within the companyy were even contacted and told that Wilson wasn't going to be present for the Royal Rumble, and Fit Finlay took his spot instead:

A couple of weeks go by, he’s not listed on any of the internal producer’s lists. Now, Shane McMahon wasn’t listed as a producer either, but he helped produce the Royal Rumble, TJ Willson did not. To the point where there were women that were contacted for the Royal Rumble that said TJ isn’t doing it, I’m not doing it, and they brought in Fit Finlay.”

We hope this isn't true because TJ Wilson/Tyson Kidd has been one of the most beloved backstage figures, and not just by the women. It should be noted that Natalya's recent string of losses to Aliyah had nothing to do with her husband.

#2. Hope is true: Unique plans for the WWE Hall of Fame 2022?

There isn't much known about the WWE Hall of Fame 2022. It will take place on Friday, April 1st, 2022 from 10:30 PM till midnight. You may notice that since it's on a Friday, that may collide with SmackDown.

WWE is seemingly trying something different this year. The only news about the Hall of Fame 2022 has been the rumor (later confirmed by Matt Hardy to be true) about Jeff Hardy being offered a return and an induction into the 2022 class, both offers of which he rejected. Mike Johnson of PWInsider revealed that attendees for SmackDown will be treated to the Hall of Fame ceremony as a bonus:

"If you're wondering how the WWE Universe will be able to attend both SmackDown and the Hall of Fame on the same night, plans currently call for the Hall of Fame to be held at the American Airlines Center, where SmackDown will be held. Mike Johnson stated that the belief is that this will not require a separate ticket and will be a complementary addition to the SmackDown event that evening."

We hope this is true because it seems to be a clever way to save time and expense rather than having an entirely separate ceremony.

#1. Hope isn't true: The status of Big E's singles push following his WWE title loss

Big E was quietly moved to SmackDown soon after his WWE title run ended, and with Xavier Woods out injured, he will be sticking with Kofi Kingston on the blue brand. It's a shame because it was only a little over two months ago when Big E was RAW's #1 draft pick and the overall #2 draft pick.

Big E appears to have been relegated in his role as well. While he was purposely kept apart from Kingston and Woods in the 2020 and 2021 Draft, he is back where he started with The New Day. Dave Meltzer revealed on WON that the move to SmackDown was WWE effectively ending his big push as a singles champion:

"Big E being moved to SmackDown permanently and put back with the New Day as a tag team looks to have ended his push as a singles champion level guy," revealed Dave Meltzer.

Meltzer noted that the plan wasn't specifically for him to challenge Roman Reigns, but it could still happen as The Tribal Chief constantly needs new opponents over the next year:

"The plan on SmackDown was to put him in with the New Day and he wasn't brought over specifically to be an opponent for Reigns, although obviously that could still happen simply due to the fact Reigns constantly will need new opponents over the next year and they have depth issues when it comes to challengers and he at least was on top for much of 2021 so has some singles main event credibility," stated Meltzer.

We hope this isn't true because it seems to be a big step backwards for Big E. What he needs isn't a reunion with Kofi Kingston and The New Day, but a new presentation as a singles star so he can continue to forge his own legacy.

#1. Hope is true: WWE has already decided on two marquee WrestleMania 39 matches

What's often interesting about the road to WrestleMania is that there are several reports from the WWE rumor mill, and it isn't specific to one event. Take Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar in 2017, for example. Even before WrestleMania 33 took place, it was reported that WWE intended to have both men meet at the following year's WrestleMania.

This year, the two marquee WrestleMania matches are set in stone, and there are big plans for WrestleMania 39 in Hollywood already. The event will take place at the SoFi Stadium and is expected to have even bigger matches than this year.

According to WON, there are plans for a match between The Rock and Roman Reigns, and Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey. The former, of course, is all down to whether the company can lock The Rock in for an appearance.

Sportskeeda's Nick Lombardi wrote:

"In the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reports that WWE is currently working on linking two blockbuster matches for the main events of night 1 and night 2 of WrestleMania 39. With The Rock taking on The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns, and Rowdy Ronda Rousey taking on The Man Becky Lynch."

We hope this is true, although the match with The Rock will always be uncertain. He revealed that he "quietly" retired from wrestling, and he had gotten into trouble in 2013 following his injury at WrestleMania 29, as it caused a massive delay in the filming of Hercules.

However, if there's one match that The Rock should return for, it's against Roman Reigns.