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Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true, and those we hope aren't. This is the post-SummerSlam edition, which means that there will be a lot about the fallout from the biggest party of the summer.
This exciting week's edition includes significant changes made after Vince McMahon's retirement, news about a potential WWE sale, changed plans for SummerSlam and rejected creative ideas that have now been approved in WWE. We round off with the report of Ric Flair's health following his final match, and more. Let's get right into it:
#4. Hope is true: WWE is keen to bring back two stars with Vince McMahon out of the picture
Vince McMahon is out of the picture, which means that there are going to be several changes within WWE. The biggest change up front has been the appointment of Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-CEOs of WWE, and Triple H taking control of the main roster's creative department.
These are the surface-level changes. In reality, there will be several internal adjustments within WWE and a likely drastic change in the company's overall work culture and environment. It may also mean extending the olive branch to superstars who have been shunned - such as Sasha Banks and Naomi.
The former women's champions are yet to make a return to the company, but it seems to be a huge possibility now. A new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter suggested that WWE management is interested in bringing back the tandem now that Vince McMahon is retired.
''The former Sasha Banks, Mercedes Varnado, is charging $30,000 per appearance on the outside market. There is interest in getting her back with Vince out of the picture,'' wrote Meltzer.
We hope this is true because they are two high-profile stars and are a good fit for the company.
#3. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon rejected Bayley's idea that was finally approved after he left
One of the biggest moments of WWE SummerSlam 2022 happened right after the opening match. Following Bianca Belair's successful RAW Women's Championship defense against Becky Lynch, she was confronted by her old rival Bayley. The Role Model returned to WWE, introducing her new faction involving the returning Dakota Kai and debuting Iyo Sky.
Bayley was out for a little over a year and got to come out in front of a WWE crowd for the first time in over 800 days. She reportedly pushed for the faction more than a year ago, but Vince McMahon allegedly rejected it.
Fightful Select gave a detailed report on what happened backstage in WWE leading up to The Role Model's return at SummerSlam and the debut of her new faction. Sportskeeda's Vatsal Rathod wrote:
"The report further adds that the idea for this stable was pitched long ago, even before Dakota Kai's release earlier this year. However, the pitch was initially rejected by Vince McMahon."
We hope this isn't true, but perhaps the timing worked out better as a freak injury would have instantly ruined Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky's momentum.
#3. Hope is true: Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey had the time from their match cut
Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey was seemingly a bit of a peculiar match. It wasn't placed well as it was the second-last match on the card - meaning that it was set to be a cool-down bout before Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar.
Fans weren't outraged by how the match was handled, but the finish was less than ideal. From one point of view, WWE booked themselves into a corner by having this contest happen as early as it did. Regardless, fans are happy that Liv Morgan is still the SmackDown Women's Champion.
Many noted how short the match was, with the entire bout lasting 4 minutes and 35 seconds. This made it the shortest bout on the entire card - ten seconds shorter than the United States match between Bobby Lashley and Theory.
According to Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline, the SmackDown Women's Championship match reportedly had time cut from it due to The Miz and Logan Paul exceeding its planned runtime:
''Bryan Alvarez mentioned on Twitter that Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan had “a lot of time cut” from their match at SummerSlam due to The Miz and Logan Paul going long earlier in the night.'' [H/T Cageside seats]
We hope this is true as the match didn't need to go on for longer than it did. The circumstances of the situation meant that Morgan and Rousey were never going to have the epic match that many hoped they would. One could even argue that WWE handled it well given the constraints they had and the spot it was placed at.
#2. Hope isn't true: Becky Lynch suffered an injury at SummerSlam 2022
Becky Lynch argubaly had the second-best match of the night at SummerSlam 2022 against Bianca Belair. Although she lost, she turned face afterwards when she shook hands and embraced The EST Of WWE.
However, this was the second bout they had together where a potential injury or damage was involved. While Bianca Belair seemingly injured her eye at WrestleMania 38 against Becky Lynch, Big Time Becks seems to have suffered a legitimate injury at SummerSlam.
A photo surfaced not long after the RAW Women's Championship match was over, revealing that Becky Lynch was nursing her right shoulder and was escorted away by WWE staff:
We hope this isn't true, but given how things look in hindsight, it is possibly the truth. With that said, we wish Becky Lynch a speedy recovery.
#2. Hope is true: WWE's status on a potential future sale
When Ariel Helwani asked then-WWE President Nick Khan if the company was up for sale, he made one thing clear - they weren't talking to anybody at the time, but they are always willing to listen to offers.
With Vince McMahon out of the picture, many fans have questioned whether WWE will completely open the doors for new bidders. However, that doesn't seem to be the case.
According to a story by CNBC, WWE is currently not up for sale despite Vince McMahon's retirement. Sportskeeda's Robert Lentini wrote:
"In a story published by CNBC today, a source close to the matter stated that the promotion is not currently in sales talks following Vince McMahon's departure. CNBC noted that companies like Comcast, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount Global, Apple, Amazon, and Netflix would all make sense as an acquirer if the promotion is eventually available for purchase."
We hope this is true because the timing isn't right. It's going to take a few years under the new management to see how differently things operate before they can potentially look at a sale.
#1. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon wasn't in support of a major turn at SummerSlam
Vince McMahon was the end-all-be-all of everything related to WWE. From the financials of the company to the creative, nothing happened without his nod of approval.
He has been accused of creative stubbornness several times over his long tenure, refusing to change certain superstars' characters when necessary.
On the latest PWTorchVip.com audio show, Wade Keller noted that Vince McMahon wouldn't have approved of Becky Lynch's face turn:
"I can now confirm Becky was not gonna turn if Vince McMahon was still in control. That was a Paul Levesque call. I just got confirmation on that. She would have been a heel as we're talking right now if McMahon was still running things. So, one big change early on there," reported Wade Keller. (h/t WrestlingNews.co)
We hope this isn't true, but it wouldn't be surprising if it were.
#1. Hope is true: Ric Flair's status after his last match
All-time great Ric Flair has an unmatched career in professional wrestling. When talking about the Mount Rushmore of the industry, very few can name one without The Nature Boy.
Flair decided that he wanted to have his last match on his own terms, and that's exactly what happened when it was announced that his retirement bout would happen one day after SummerSlam 2022.
He teamed up with his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo to face Jey Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. In the show's main event, he defeated Lethal and Jarrett while legends like Bret Hart, The Undertaker, and Mick Foley sat at ringside watching.
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Ric Flair reportedly walked out of his final match in good health despite the scare:
"The doctors were waiting for him the second he returned to the locker room area. He was obviously spent after the bout, but after resting and being checked out, he was saying he was starving and wanted to go eat. So, as scary some of the PPV bout was [especially the last third of the bout], we are told Flair is fine and heading out for the rest of his evening in Nashville," Johnson reported.
We hope this is true because it could have gone either way, given Flair's past health issues. But the fact that he made it out healthy makes the retirement match much sweeter.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
