5 Top WWE rumors from this week: Former world champion wants to return for WrestleMania, Vince McMahon has given up on top RAW star (January 22th, 2022)

#2 Update on WrestleMania plans for Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns

There has been massive speculation recently of WWE Champion Brock Lesnar facing Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38 in a "champion vs. champion" bout. This was further fueled when Lesnar showed up on SmackDown and challenged Reigns to a match.

However, Dave Meltzer has reported on the Wrestling Observer Radio that there are no such plans. He added that the WrestleMania plans for the two would become cleared after Royal Rumble.

“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.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship and Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship have been announced for the Royal Rumble. Could we see one of the world titles change hands next Saturday?

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#1 WWE has denied Mustafa Ali's release request

Earlier this week, Mustafa Ali took to Twitter to openly ask for his release from WWE. While the announcement shocked many, some were also of the opinion that Ali was doing the right thing as he wasn't being used well in the promotion.

It has since been reported that Mustafa Ali got into a heated argument with Vince McMahon backstage for turning down a character change and hasn't been seen on SmackDown since.

While the initial belief was that he will be granted his release, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select has now reported that Ali won't be getting his release. He added that the WWE Superstar has years left on his contract with the company.