4 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 3 we hope aren't: Roman Reigns & Brock Lesnar using "backstage influence" in WWE?

Welcome to the post-Survivor Series edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. The final of the big four/five pay-per-views are over, and the next special will be "Day 1" on January 1st, 2022.

This week's edition features reports on Triple H's WWE future, the company making a big push to re-sign a superstars' contract, a reported "freak out" backstage at Survivor Series, news on released superstars, and more.

WWE is now eyeing to end 2021 on a big note, and these are the biggest rumors that we hope are true, and those we hope aren't:

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#4. Hope is true: Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar's use of backstage influence in WWE

Backstage influence in Vince McMahon's promotion is hard to come by. It seems to be exclusively reserved for top-tier superstars, and even their power seems to be minute compared to top legends of past eras.

There were rumors that Daniel Bryan had creative control in the final three years of his WWE career, while Edge reportedly enjoys a good deal of control himself.

Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are undoubtedly two of the most popular superstars right now, which is why it shouldn't come as a surprise that they hold a good deal of backstage influence.

It was reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) that the booking of the Roman Reigns vs. King Woods match on the November 12th episode of SmackDown was a last-minute call made by The Tribal Chief himself.

Meltzer later elaborated on it, revealing that both Reigns and Lesnar use their backstage influence in the company to make changes to their segments and matches:

"There were changes pitched between 4 and 6 p.m. the day of the show, but that is usually the case with Reigns segments since it’s a common thing for Reigns and Lesnar to ask for late changes with Heyman as the common denominator with ideas to enhance what was on paper the day of the show," stated Meltzer.

While some may not like the idea of certain superstars holding backstage influence, the modern era isn't like the 1980s to 2000s where top superstars would notoriously politick.

This is why we hope it's true, as the superstars' direct input usually benefits programming.

#3. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon couldn't take a WWE superstar seriously because of his size?

Over 100 WWE Superstars have been released since 2020, and the roster keeps thinning down. Despite the cuts constantly happening, the company continues to shock fans with a new round of cuts that seem to happen every other month.

One superstar who had the bad fortune of being released twice since 2020 was Drake Maverick. The popular superstar was assigned more of a comedy role - one that he thrived in.

Despite his entertaining personality, he was once again underutilized when he was called up to the main roster recently. Maverick's first release from WWE was a heartbreaking one, and the company made an effort to bring him back, and he was awarded a contract with NXT.

According to a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Drake Maverick's release was no surprise as Vince McMahon wasn't going to take someone of his size seriously:

"[Drake Maverick's] departure was not a surprise since he was considered to be cut just a few weeks ago, but survived that round," wrote Meltzer. "Someone of his size was not going to be taken seriously by Vince McMahon, and while a great personality when put on the screen, his age and size worked against him."

We hope this isn't true because Maverick proved to be an entertaining personality who was well-suited for comedy roles like R-Truth. It's a shame that he had to be released again, but his response this time around was a different one - more motivational and inspiring.

#3. Hope is true: Update on Johnny Gargano's WWE contract

Johnny Gargano has been in WWE for over five years now, and he has come to be known as Mr. NXT. Seemingly refusing a main roster call-up, his achievements and legacy will be more protected because of his run with the brand.

The first triple-crown champion in NXT history may not be with Vince McMahon's promotion for long. His contract reportedly expires on Friday, December 3rd. This means that his half-decade-long stint with WWE could all come to an end in less than two weeks.

A report from Dave Meltzer of WON stated that the global juggernaut is making a big effort to re-sign Gargano to a new contract as his is set to expire soon:

"Johnny Gargano has not signed a new contract, but WWE is pushing very hard for him to do so and evidently made a very strong offer for him to stay here for a long time. His deal is up 12/3," reported Meltzer.

We hope this is true because it puts Johnny Gargano in a good position to negotiate with WWE and other promotions. Ultimately, he will likely get what's best for himself. In all likeliness, one of the conditions of him re-signing would be to make him an NXT-exclusive superstar immune from main roster call-ups.

#2. Hope isn't true: Hit Row member had a bad backstage reputation in WWE?

WWE seemed to have big plans for Hit Row when they were called up to the main roster. They enjoyed consistent TV time, and the promotion first released member B-Fab after only recently signing her to a new contract.

Soon enough, the rest of Hit Row were released by the company. AJ Francis, aka Top Dolla, reportedly rubbed people the wrong way backstage, as per a report from WON:

"While he came across well on television, he rubbed a ton of people the wrong way in NXT and was getting the same reputation on the main roster. He was the one Vince McMahon saw as the star of the group because of his size," revealed Meltzer in the Newsletter.

While noting that Vince McMahon viewed Top Dolla as the star of the group, him getting released supposedly made the other two members' releases inevitable:

"Once they decided to get rid of him, the other two likely were caught in the crossfire. Miles really wasn't going to do anything on the main roster without the group. Strickland is not their type as they are looking for bigger guys, and Francis not being with them pretty much doomed them," Meltzer added.

We hope this isn't true, and AJ Francis responded to these reports by defending himself. However, it's always a bad look when such reports come out.

#2. Hope is true: WWE planning for NXT to move away from PG?

WWE is taking an entirely different direction with NXT 2.0. There was a lot of fuss about the overhaul and rebranding of NXT, and the new direction seems to be complete.

The company is reportedly looking to make it a program with edgier and more mature content. Now that it's a developmental program again, more changes need to be made to secure good ratings on the USA Network.

According to WrestleVotes, WWE is still in talks to change NXT to a TV-14 rating and to move away from the current PG rating. They also stated that USA Network is not opposed to the change at all:

We hope this is true because edgier and more mature content means that they will give superstars a bit more leeway to be themselves on TV and to let their personality shine.

Although the rebranding to NXT 2.0 might have been an unpopular decision to many fans, this might be what the promotion needs to secure better ratings for the brand as well as improve the development of younger superstars.

#1. Hope isn't true: Backstage freakout in WWE during the Survivor Series main event?

The main event of Survivor Series 2021 saw WWE Champion Big E take on Universal Champion Roman Reigns. As expected, it was Reigns who walked out victoriously for the second year in a row.

The match also proved to be a good one, but there was reportedly some turmoil backstage during the main event. According to a report from PWInsider, there was a minor freak out backstage in WWE as people were concerned about running out of time:

"PWInsider reported that there was a 'minor freak out' backstage during the show's main event as people behind-the-scenes were concerned about running out of time."

We hope this isn't true, but also understand that the company likely doesn't have the same freedom to have their own pay-per-view airtimes as they did in the WWE Network era.

The deal with Peacock likely means that they're restricted with the runtime, which was four hours for Survivor Series. That was far longer than the average pay-per-view runtime in 2020 and 2021.

#1. Hope is true: Triple H's future in WWE

There is speculation that Triple H's in-ring career with WWE is done following his recent cardiac event. While he hasn't wrestled for the company in a while, he also took a hiatus from his duties in the office owing to the cardiac event.

In his time away, many felt that Vince McMahon and WWE revamped Triple H's legacy entirely with the rebranding of NXT to NXT 2.0. There have been reports of the latter being among the most frustrated people in the promotion since 2019, and a lot of this has led to speculation that he might be looking for an exit from WWE.

Dave Meltzer of WON put these rumors to rest by stating that The Game won't be leaving the global juggernaut:

“He has serious health issues nor does he have the money to be able to start a company. This is much to do about nothing. So, if you are expecting to see another major wrestling promotion to pop up in the next few years, don’t expect to see it come from Triple H," said Meltzer. [H/T WrestlingNewsCo]

We hope this is true because Triple H isn't in a stage where he should be changing promotions. It could potentially put him in risk of losing Vince McMahon's spot in the future.