4 Wrestling rumors we hope are true and 3 we hope aren't: Young star to get big push at the Royal Rumble, 4-time champion set to leave WWE?

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. The Royal Rumble is officially less than a week away, which means that the road to WrestleMania begins soon.

It's the most exciting period of the WWE calendar year, and the Royal Rumble is viewed by many as the second-biggest show of the wrestling calendar year, while some argue that SummerSlam is number two.

Either way, we have some big rumors this week regarding the return of a Grand Slam Champion from a long injury hiatus, another top star potentially returning in time for WrestleMania, and using John Cena as inspiration.

As well as Vince McMahon "giving up" on a former Universal Champion, more clarity on plans for the WrestleMania 38 main event, and so much more. Let's begin:

---

#4. Hope is true: Vince McMahon has big plans for a young WWE star at the Royal Rumble

Vince McMahon has drastically reduced his on-screen appearances in the last decade. Various reports from different sources indicated that McMahon isn't interested in being an on-screen character anymore.

Whether he simply feels as though the Mr. McMahon character isn't necessary, or whether he wants to keep making WWE look younger, there are few exceptions when he does come out.

On one hand, he appears to celebrate legends like Triple H and The Undertaker on important career moments, and on the other, he is Mr. McMahon and interacts with superstars. However, it's clear that he never goes out of his way to interact with superstars unless he has big plans for them.

When Roman Reigns wasn't getting over in 2015, Vince McMahon came out to feud with him and help get him over.

Lately, he has been interacting with only one superstar in WWE - 24-year-old Austin Theory. The young star has been in important spots lately and has gotten big victories, with his most recent one being against Finn Balor.

McMahon plays a mentor of sorts to Theory, using different methods to motivate him. It was the WWE Chairman who handed Austin Theory a spot in the 2022 Men's Royal Rumble match. This is reportedly where things are going to get bigger and better for the young star.

Wrestlenews.co spoke to one of their sources within the company and reported that Vince McMahon has big plans for Austin Theory at the 2022 Royal Rumble. Sportskeeda's Matt Black wrote:

"He [Vince McMahon] envisions Austin Theory becoming a main event player within the following year. Theory's push will reportedly begin at The Royal Rumble, where he will "get time to shine" in the matchup and be one of the final four or five men in the match at the end."

We hope this is true because the final four is a good spot for Theory to be in. It's clear that he won't be winning the Royal Rumble, but the final four spot is often viewed with prestige and will help elevate his status on the road to WrestleMania 38.

#3. Hope isn't true: Another star to follow Kyle O'Reilly and Johnny Gargano out of WWE

In early December, the big story about two departures from WWE emerged. One was of Johnny Gargano, while the other was former Undisputed Era member Kyle O'Reilly.

Both men had huge roles in NXT, with Gargano, in particular, being considered a legend of the brand. The transition of NXT into NXT 2.0 seemed to be an appropriate time for Johnny Gargano to exit on his own terms.

Despite this, there were reports that both Gargano and O'Reilly were wanted within the company. However, their decision seemed to make sense, even at the time.

Kyle O'Reilly's exit meant that Roderick Strong was the only member of The Undisputed Era still signed to WWE. He had moved on and was the Cruiserweight Champion, until it was unified and discontinued following his loss to Carmelo Hayes.

On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez casted his doubts about whether Strong will continue with the company:

"I don’t know what the future is for Roderick Strong, (..) Roderick Strong was the Cruiserweight Champion. They’re getting rid of the cruiserweight belt. Clearly, they don’t want cruiserweights. And I believe Roderick Strong just opened up a PW Tees store, so I don’t know what the future is for this guy."

We hope this isn't true, but we can understand why Roderick Strong wouldn't want to stick around in the company. The death of the Cruiserweight division and the revamp into NXT 2.0 means that there may not be a place for him to thrive.

#3. Hope is true: An update on Asuka's return to WWE

Asuka is one of the most highly-accomplished women in WWE history. Not only does she hold the longest individual reign of all time with the NXT Women's Championship, but she also has the longest undefeated streak since Goldberg, and she is the first winner of the Women's Royal Rumble match.

She is a Grand Slam Champion in WWE, and only has a WrestleMania main event and Queen's Crown win to complete an essentially perfect career in the company. She has been out of action for a while now as she was last seen in the 2021 Women's Money in the Bank ladder match.

She wasn't successful for the second year in a row, and she went out of action due to an arm injury. Her loss has been a big one to the women's division, as she was important on the RAW side, while Bayley was important on SmackDown when she got injured.

According to Andrew Zarian of The Mat Men podcast, Asuka is reportedly on her way back from the arm injury. Sportskeeda's Matt Black wrote:

"According to Andrew Zarian of The Mat Men podcast, The Empress of Tomorrow might be on her way back to WWE as he stated during the show that he believes she 'should be cleared now' for a return to the company."

We hope this is true because the women's division desperately needs The Empress of Tomorrow back, and she is a top star who is essentially ready to be used for a title run or title shot at any point.

#2. Hope isn't true: Backstage news on whether WWE will grant Mustafa Ali a release request

When the pandemic began, WWE started to release talent in masses. It seemed as though the releases came in batches, and the number amped up in 2021 with some shocking names on the list.

However, it was also noted that they was granting releases to superstars who previously requested them. This meant that when Mustafa Ali publicly requested his release, the assumption was that it would be granted immediately.

However, things seem to be a bit more complicated than that. There were reports that Ali got into a heated conversation with Vince McMahon over disagreements on a character. As a result, he could be on bad terms with the company's main man.

Sean Ross Sapp enquired about whether Mustafa Ali would be granted his release request. Shockingly, sources within the company told him that Ali wouldn't be granted a release:

"According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, he spoke with someone high up within WWE who stated it's hard not to grant releases to talent right now who ask for it due to all of the explanations of "budget cuts" over the past year."

We hope this isn't true because it sets a bad precedent. Why keep Mustafa Ali on the payroll when he is willing to leave on his own? It also adds doubt to the company telling talents that their releases are due to budget cuts.

#2. Hope is true: Drew McIntyre's return to WWE and comparisons to John Cena

What does Drew McIntyre have in common with WWE legend John Cena? Perhaps the same level of dedication and commitment to returning? As you may know, McIntyre has been dealing with nagging neck issues, which is why he was written off TV at Day 1 following an attack from Madcap Moss and Happy Corbin.

He is a key figure for the company on the road to WrestleMania as he is considered one of the only credible babyfaces on SmackDown who can challenge Roman Reigns.

Drew McIntyre was the company's most important star in 2020 - perhaps the trickiest year in the history of wrestling. However, his injury has come as a blow to WWE as WrestleMania season is approaching. With that said, McIntyre doesn't want to miss The Show of Shows.

Dave Meltzer of WON reported that The Scottish Warrior is insisting on a return for WrestleMania, and he is even taking the John Cena 2007 approach to do so:

"Regarding [Drew] McIntyre, he’s been doing rehab and decompression therapy on his neck. He’s taking the John Cena approach of double sessions six days a week and is pretty insistent he’ll make it back for WrestleMania,'' said Meltzer.

We hope this is true, but at the same time, we also hope that McIntyre doesn't worsen his body by rushing a return. Cena was dubbed as a superhuman for his miraculously-quick return in time for the 2008 Royal Rumble match.

#1. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon's role for Finn Balor in WWE

Finn Balor's second WWE main roster run seems much like his first. While he had a lot of steam behind him at first, his momentum quickly died down, and he seems to be in a limbo as to whether he is a top title contender or someone who helps elevate other stars.

While Balor was briefly a Universal title contender in the summer of 2021, he would suffer his first defeat on the main roster as The Demon to Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules.

After being drafted to RAW, it has been much of the same. His latest defeat to Austin Theory has put a lot of questions forth as to what Balor's role in the company is. According to a report by Wrestlingnews.co, Finn Balor has essentially been slotted into the Jeff Hardy role, and Vince McMahon doesn't want to push him:

"Finn [Balor] was moved into the spot that Jeff Hardy had," claimed WrestlingNews.co's source. "He’s just there now to help get over the younger guys. There was a pitch to make him heel but that was weeks ago and I haven’t heard much about it since then. Vince never saw Finn as more than just a mid card guy."

We hope this isn't true because there is a lot of value in Balor as a top star. Unfortunately for him, it looks like the writing is on the wall for his WWE main roster career.

#1. Hope is true: WWE's plans for Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38

When Brock Lesnar won the WWE Championship at Day 1, his focus was still on Universal Champion Roman Reigns. He teased a champion vs. champion bout between the two, leading some to believe that there could be plans for a unification of titles or for both world titles to simply be featured in one match.

This would have been a disappointment as it would immediately take away a spot from two or three superstars that could be included in a separate match on the first night of WWE WrestleMania 38.

Thankfully, Dave Meltzer seemingly confirmed on WOR that there are no such plans for a champion vs. champion match at The Grandest Stage of Them All before explaining how it could play out:

“I was told no. That they just did it because those two guys had the belt at the time. So it made sense to do it at the time. But, at the time, that was not the direction that they were planning on…Lesnar and Reigns are going to have a match. I think we’ll have a lot better idea of what’s gonna happen after the Royal Rumble. But, if Seth wins and then Lesnar’s wrestling Roman, I would presume Roman beats him to win a belt back. Because Lesnar’s not going to be around long-term and Roman will be around every week," said Dave Meltzer.

We hope this is true because Seth Rollins defending the Universal title at WWE WrestleMania is far better than a champion vs. champion bout between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.