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Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. We're now past the WrestleMania Backlash and WWE is gearing up to have an earlier-than-usual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view next month.
Before all that, let's look into the big rumors of the week. These include Superstars' pushes, postponed blockbuster WrestleMania matches, SummerSlam feuds, backstage notes, a potentially big return to WWE and more. Let's begin:
#4. The backstage reason why WWE has decided to push Tamina after 11 years
It's unbelievable to think that it took Tamina 11 years since her WWE debut to win her first Championship. In the eyes of many, she should have been a Champion years ago or at least been given a token run - similar to Natalya's SmackDown Women's Championship reign in 2017.
Even then, there has been a fair argument made as to why she shouldn't have been in that position. For the last seven to eight years, WWE has been getting the best inflow of female talent in wrestling history. As a result, their women's division is now second to none.
With the level of talent present, it's not hard to see why Tamina didn't get the same opportunity on a singles level. However, there's no denying her improvement since 2020, proving that she was one of the Superstars that benefited from the "no crowd" pandemic era of WWE.
Tamina finally won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Natalya after failing to do so at WrestleMania 37 Night 2. Interestingly, WrestleMania is reportedly the reason why Tamina is getting pushed. According to Dave Meltzer of WON, Tamina's sudden push came because fans started chanting her name at WrestleMania 37:
“Tamina’s push came because the fans started chanting her name at WrestleMania, the one night, or the two nights that you actually have fans, and they (WWE) went with it. That was one of the stories at WrestleMania, was, cult reason or whatever, irony or whatever, the crowd got behind her and the decision was made (to push her)." (H/T WrestleTalk)
We hope this is true because Tamina deserves Championship success, even if it's at the Tag Team level. She's been in the company far too long not to have a title to her name, and her recent win got a good response from fans online as well.
#4. Hope isn't true: WWE's possible delay of Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey
There's only one stage where WWE would want to book Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey - WrestleMania. While it was the originally scheduled WrestleMania 35 main event, Charlotte Flair was added to the match, making it a Triple Threat.
Ronda Rousey has been away from WWE for two years now, and it was only a month ago when she announced that she had been pregnant for months. The reason why Rousey left WWE was for motherhood, and it's finally happening.
It's unclear as to when Ronda Rousey will return to the ring, but she sat out two years of her WWE contract. She will be expected to return to the squared circle sooner than later, but only on a part-time basis or for a short-term program.
According to Wrestlingnews.co, WrestleMania 38 at the AT&T Stadium has been discussed as the date to have the match. But WrestleMania 39 is reportedly being given strong consideration as well:
"WrestleMania 38 in Dallas has been discussed but others in the company feel that it would be better to hold that match off until WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles since that is Rousey’s hometown and having L.A. host the show would guarantee more mainstream publicity."
We hope this isn't true unless Ronda Rousy isn't ready to return by 2022. WrestleMania 38 would be a great place for a blockbuster match that could headline the show.
#3. Hope is true: Zelina Vega's WWE status
Zelina Vega was released by WWE in a shock move half a year ago. It reportedly had to do with her refusal to comply with WWE's "third-party platform" rules, as well as her open opposition towards it.
Right around the time of her release announcement, Vega simply tweeted, "I support unionization." However, she hasn't been active on Twitch post-WWE release. Fightful reported that Zelina Vega was seen in the WWE Performance Center, with a plan being worked out for her return:
We're working to learn the context of Zelina's appearance at the WWE PC, but have been told the working plan is for her to return to the company.
Dave Meltzer confirmed this report on Twitter, and it now seems to be public knowledge that Zelina Vega is coming back to WWE.
We hope this is true because she deserves to have a good spot in WWE. However, it's hard to agree with the company's third-party platform rule that bans talent from making an additional source of revenue.
#3. Hope isn't true: WWE's planned direction for Eva Marie
Eva Marie is set to re-debut in WWE after her signing was made official. It took WWE a while after her signing to acknowledge it, but we're now getting weekly segments promoting "Eva-Lution."
If there's anything WWE should have learned from Eva Marie's run between 2015 and 2016 is that she is a heat magnet and fans don't want to cheer her. There's little to cheer about her character, which is why she was utilized well as a heel.
Eva Marie was even picking up momentum after getting drafted to SmackDown in 2016. However, a Wellness Policy Violation marked the beginning of the end of her WWE run.
According to Bryan Alvarez on the Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE might be planning to bring Eva Marie back as a babyface motivational speaker:
"I could be wrong here, but what she seems to be trying to do is be like a babyface motiviational speaker,” said Bryan Alvarez. The idea is she’s a supermodel who’s worked hard to become a supermodel and somehow yeah the idea is she’s a celebrity who wants to help other people. So she is a babyface, it is weird.
Alvarez also compared it to the "Emmalina" gimmick years ago that was teased for several months as an inside joke in WWE.
We hope this isn't true because it's a character that's destined to backfire as a babyface and will flop from day one. Eva Marie isn't a natural babyface and it makes no sense to bring her back as one.
#2. Hope is true: WWE's interesting plans for RAW involving Aleister Black
Aleister Black is finally set to return to WWE after more than half a year away. In that time, his wife Zelina Vega was released by WWE and is already set to make her return.
In recent weeks, WWE has aired vignettes of Aleister Black for his upcoming return to SmackDown. All we know is that he will be picking up where he left off as a heel.
However, given how things keep changing in WWE, there could be another big plan as well. RAW has been a bit weak at the top, relying on Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley in the last few months.
AJ Styles and Randy Orton are also part of the Tag Team division, leaving WWE with a lack of top names on the Red brand.
According to WrestleVotes, there are reportedly backstage talks about two big ideas - shifting Aleister Black to RAW and Damian Priest getting a big push:
We hope this is true because RAW being less heavy at the top might leave an opening for Aleister Black to have a quick ascent. On the other hans, an organic rise to the top might serve Damian Priest well in the long run.
#2. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon removed a SmackDown segment on the Throwback episode
The Throwback episode of SmackDown was a good one for WWE. While fans expected the famous "Giant Fist" set of the Ruthless Aggression era, WWE went a little more old school (minus a graphic of the fist).
Pat McAfee is the newest addition to the commentary team on SmackDown and he has received general praise from WWE fans. There was a taped segment where McAfee pretended to be a young Vince McMahon.
According to Dave Meltzer of WON, the segment was reportedly removed because Vince McMahon thought it looked stupid:
"Also, on the Throwback show, there was a Pat McAfee taped segment where he would pretend to be a young Vince McMahon. It was cut out of the show. We were told the reason McMahon cut it from the show is that McAfee didn't look or sound like a young McMahon, and he thought it looked stupid, comical in the wrong way. He felt that instead of what he was looking for, a parody of himself, he felt it was a parody of a parody." Meltzer stated.
We hope this isn't true because it would have been a great addition to the Throwback episode of SmackDown.
#1. Hope is true: WWE has interesting plans for Jinder Mahal this summer
Jinder Mahal is back in WWE after a year away. While The Bollywood Boyz was partly responsible for his successful spell in 2017, he has two new reinforcements in Shanky and Veer.
Jinder Mahal has been extremely unlucky, suffering two major injuries in 2019 and 2020 that kept him out for long spells. Even last year, there were reportedly plans for Jinder Mahal to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at some point.
Wrestlingnews.co reported that WWE is planning to give Jinder Mahal a big push that could result in a feud against Drew McIntyre during the summer.
"We're told that Mahal is slated to get a big push, and the idea is to build him up for his eventual feud with Drew McIntyre in the summer months."
We hope this is true because Jinder Mahal deserves to get an organic push, and a non-Title feud against Drew McIntyre makes a lot of sense. Drew McIntyre needs to step away from the WWE Title and Jinder Mahal needs a stepping stone towards it.
#1. Hope isn't true: Keith Lee's status in WWE
Keith Lee has been absent from WWE for three months now. He was originally scheduled to be a part of the United States Championship match at Elimination Chamber 2021, but he was pulled out for unknown reasons.
John Morrison replaced him and Bobby Lashley lost the US Title in what turned out to be a stepping stone to his first WWE Championship.
Keith Lee was scheduled for a big push and was one of the most regularly featured stars on RAW. He has been vague about his absence, but according to F4WOnline, Keith Lee is reportedly okay but simply isn't getting utilized (via Cageside Seats):
When asked about Keith Lee’s current status, F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer said, “He’s okay, but obviously he’s not being used.”
We hope this isn't true because the RAW after WrestleMania would have been an ideal place for Keith Lee to return. Given the lack of big names in the main event scene on RAW, it would have been the perfect opportunity to push Keith Lee.
