'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. A lot is happening in the world of wrestling. As WWE gets set to welcome crowds back in a month and a half, there could be a game-changing partnership in the works.
As always, we will cover important backstage notes and rumors for SummerSlam, among other things.
Here are the biggest rumors of the week:
#4. Hope is true: WWE's big call-up plans on the road to Hell In A Cell 2021
Hell in a Cell normally takes place in October every year, but WWE brought it four months back to June, even pushing Money in the Bank to July in the process. There seem to be a few big matches being built to the pay-per-view, with two or a maximum of three Hell in a Cell matches taking place.
WWE's build to Hell in a Cell has started off in a great way on both RAW and SmackDown, and the build post-PPV will focus on Money in the Bank - one of the most pivotal pay-per-views in the calendar year.
According to Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select, WWE is reportedly planning multiple call-ups from both NXT and NXT UK in the coming weeks.
Sportskeeda's Matt Black wrote:
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, WWE is currently planning for "multiple" call-ups from both NXT and NXT UK in the coming weeks. Sapp noted there has been speculation among talent in the black and gold brand over the past few weeks regarding who may or may not be called up to the WWE main roster soon.
We hope this is true because it's been a while since we had a fresh set of debuts, with the last big period happening in the summer of 2020. With WWE gearing up for the return of fans in July 2021, a shake-up is needed. A fresh set of debuts is the best way to hype Hell in a Cell - the final pay-per-view without crowds.
#4. Hope isn't true: Backstage heat in WWE towards John Cena
WWE legend John Cena has been in the mainstream headlines recently, and for all the wrong reasons. His recent film Fast & Furious 9 released in China, and it proved to be an unsurprising box office success.
However, in an interview promoting the film, John Cena referred to Taiwan as a country. Given China's complicated political relations with Taiwan, his comments seemed to stir some trouble.
As a result, John Cena had to put out a public statement in Mandarin, apologizing for calling Taiwan a country. In his statement, he said:
“Hi China, I’m John Cena. I’m in the middle of Fast & Furious 9 promotions. I’m doing a lot of interviews. I made a mistake in one of my interviews. I made one mistake. I have to say something very, very, important now. I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologize, I’m very sorry. You must understand that I really love, really respect China and the Chinese people. My apologies. See you,” said John Cena in Mandarin. (h/t SCMP)
According to Andrew Zarain of the Mat Men podcast, the apology put out by John Cena has reportedly not been received well backstage in WWE.
We hope this isn't true because in all likeliness, John Cena was pressured by higher-ups to make a quick apology to ensure that the running of Fast & Furious 9 in China runs smoothly. While he was also mocked by the likes of CM Punk and The Young Bucks, a lot of the matter wasn't in John Cena's hands.
#3. Hope is true: WWE in talks with NJPW over a partnership?
In what could turn out to be one of the biggest stories in WWE and wrestling, in general, this year, there have reportedly been talks between the sports entertainment juggernaut and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
NJPW has been Japan's top wrestling promotion for nearly two decades straight now and is widely regarded as having some of the world's best in-ring talents.
It's hard to ever think of WWE even talking about a partnership with a promotion of NJPW's size, but this could be an indication of times changing. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan has reportedly been in talks with NJPW over a potential partnership:
"In what could end up being among the biggest wrestling stories of the year, or a non-story, depending on the end result, Nick Khan has been in talks with New Japan Pro Wrestling about WWE being the exclusive American partner with the promotion," noted Meltzer.
WON added that the goal is reportedly to prevent NJPW from working with other American promotions:
Obviously, there are a million questions regarding such a deal if it was to happen, and there are no indications where talks are at past they date back to late March or early April," Meltzer added.
Further rumors have indicated that much of the deal has to do with allowing Daniel Bryan to wrestle in NJPW since he's expected to re-sign with WWE even though his contract expired.
We hope this is true because it could mark a new era of wrestling if WWE goes through with the move.
#3. Hope isn't true: Backstage notes on a new set of releases in WWE
April 15th was a dark day in WWE history, as it marked another set of releases for on-air talent. However, there has been another shocking set of releases recently.
WWE's digital team is considered to be world-class, with the company's social media reach and online presence growing drastically in the millions. A lot of it has to do with the constant content churned out by WWE.
However, PWInsider reported that there were a lot of "shellshocked" employees after they were fired.
"As you can imagine, there are a lot of shellshocked employees, both those who exited today and those who remain, knowing they will have more responsibilities to deal with daily. The Advanced Media Group was all but destroyed today, which has left a lot of people who worked to build that division heartbroken, as you can imagine."
PWInsider noted the reason behind the releases as well, revealing that WWE wants to merge multiple departments into one division.
"One of the reasons for so many departures is that over the last year, the company has determined there were too many redundancies across multiple departments in those areas. One example cited to PWInsider.com is that there were two graphics departments, one for WWE TV production and one for digital and that they can easily be merged into one division, meaning the company could get that work done with a smaller group of staffers."
We hope this isn't true because WWE had an incredible digital team, and continuing to cut costs after making record revenue is a bad look.
#2. Hope is true: WWE's plans for Eva Marie on RAW
Eva Marie vignettes have been airing for a while now, teasing her return to WWE. It's a bit odd because when Marie left WWE, she was one of the most unpopular superstars, often described as a "heat magnet". But now, she appears to be returning as a babyface.
WWE utilized her well when she was drafted to SmackDown in 2016, but her run was cut short by a suspension for violating the Wellness Policy.
While there hasn't been much of Eva Marie minus a few weekly vignettes, the gist of her character appears to be a successful woman who is returning as some kind of a motivational speaker.
While it seems to be a plan that is destined to backfire, that may not be the case. According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE's plans for Eva Marie don't involve her wrestling. Instead, it's to put over another superstar.
Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:
Fightful Select reports that WWE's current working plan isn't for Eva Marie to wrestle. Instead, company officials want to use her as a 'vehicle' to put over another superstar.
We hope this is true because it's the best way to utilize Eva Marie for her upcoming run.
#2. Hope isn't true: Backstage notes on Velveteen Dream's WWE release
Velveteen Dream's WWE career is over. Once dubbed as the most promising homegrown talents, Dream fell off the radar after accusations emerged against him last year.
However, that wasn't what sealed his fate in WWE. According to a detailed report by Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live, bad backstage attitude led to his release:
“The thing that I heard over and over again, beside the fact that he kept disappearing that there were car accidents and that’s never good, and I don’t really know what happened there, but it was a regular occurrence," Alvarez said. "The thing that I heard about Velveteen was that he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, and it had nothing to do with accusations. What I heard over and over was that this guy, when he talks about his Velveteen Dream character and he talks about blending it with his real-life…I heard about the Velveteen Dream in the same way [as Shawn Michaels becoming the HBK character in real life].”
Dave Meltzer reported on WON that a top star complaining about Velveteen Dream was the final straw:
"We were told the firing didn't have to do with those charges or anything that had been made public, but for a different incident that one of the top stars in the company alerted management to.
We hope that all of this isn't true, but everything seems to indicate that it is. It's unfortunate since Velveteen Dream could have had a great run in WWE.
#1. Hope is true: WWE's plans for John Cena at SummerSlam 2021
John Cena literally disappeared from WWE last year when he "lost" to Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36. While the match would have been different if it wasn't for the COVID-19 pandemic, the circumstances made WWE turn their bout into a cinematic match.
John Cena has been busy since then, and in the wrestling world, some positive news has emerged about his return. PWInsider first stated that John Cena's current project would end before WWE hits the road in July:
While PW Insider couldn’t confirm talks of John Cena returning to WWE, they did confirm production on the show he’s working on, Peacemaker, ends on July 6, shortly before WWE is set to hit the road again.
To add fuel to the fire, Andrew Zarain of Mat Men podcast strongly hinted at a potential John Cena vs. Roman Reigns main event for SummerSlam 2021.
We hope this is true because it would be a blockbuster main event and a way bigger deal than their forgettable feud from 2017.
#1. Hope isn't true: Backstage notes on last-minute changes for WWE RAW
WWE's build to Hell in a Cell started well on RAW, and the latest episode was a good one as well. However, it was reportedly met with the traditional chaos of ripping up scripts.
Despite a plan, PWInsider reported that there was a lot of ripping up of the script backstage before RAW went on air. The report also stated that WWE made major changes less than an hour before they went on air.
"There was yet again a lot of ripping up of the script of Raw all day before they went on the air, which led to quite a few rematches this week. A lot of the first hour of the show wasn't set in stone until shortly (as in 35-45 minutes) before they went on the air tonight."
We hope this isn't true because there are likely times when Vince McMahon overthinks segments and makes last-minute changes. Hopefully, that's a tradition that slows down in time.
