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It's been another massive week in the WWE Universe, and since it's Sunday, it's time to take a look back at the rumors from the past week. From a big angle planned for Aalyah Mysterio and Buddy Murphy, to The Undertaker's farewell at Survivor Series, we take a look at 10 of the biggest WWE rumors from the past week.
Also in this edition, we also take a look at how WWE have quietly changed Braun Strowman's character, the future of the WWE ThunderDome, and The Undertaker's possible role in WWE following retirement.
#5 Hope is true - Big WWE storyline planned for Aalyah Mysterio and Murphy?
Aalyah is currently involved in a romantic storyline with Murphy on SmackDown. With Rey Mysterio beating Seth Rollins on the latest episode of SmackDown, all seems to be well in the Mysterio family.
We have already seen backstage reports that have said that Vince McMahon is impressed with Aalyah Mysterio. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, WWE could have big plans for Aalyah Mysterio and Murphy going forward. Meltzer says that WWE could be planning a wedding angle between Aalyah Mysterio and Murphy where the latter turns on the Mysterio family:
"I still see certain DNA in the writing of this angle because so much of it is reminiscent of a WWC angle where Konnan, the top heel, was going to marry Stacy Colon, the sister of Eddie (Primo) & Carly (Carlito) and daughter of Carlos that was a big deal one year in Puerto Rico. For what it's worth, at the end Konnan asked her to marry him and eventually the family started to accept him and then he turned on her and said he manipulated the situation from the start. Not to say that's how this turns out but I know Rey has much input in this angle."
The reason we want this rumor to come true, apart from the fact that wedding angles are often fun, is this storyline could see Murphy elevated to being one of the top heels on SmackDown. For someone of Murphy’s talent, this could be the big break to elevate him to the next level.
#5 Hope isn’t true - Roman Reigns set to feud with former WWE Champion
Roman Reigns is set to face either Randy Orton or Drew McIntyre at Survivor Series, depending on who wins the WWE Championship match tomorrow night on RAW. Thanks to a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, we may also know who Roman Reigns is set to face after Survivor Series. Meltzer said that Reigns is set to feud with former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan on the blue brand:
"He's scheduled to work with Daniel Bryan, out of necessity it seems, because Bryan wasn't positioned like a main event title contender at all when he returned. The funny part is that Reigns vs. Bryan is a planned title direction shortly which makes no sense if you watched the match with Uso. Owens is also on that short list right now. But it's very clearly the Reigns show."
The reason we don’t want Daniel Byran to feud with Roman Reigns right after Survivor Series is because we feel that a Reigns-Bryan feud is worthy of one of the big 4 PPVs like WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble. WWE could drag the feud on until the Royal Rumble, but the Rumble match would not be the first of the feud if it starts after the Survivor Series PPV.
#4 Hope is true - Braun Strowman is now a babyface
Braun Strowman has long had the potential to be one of the best big men in the WWE. Strowman was recently drafted over to the Red brand during the WWE Draft and has made quite an impact since then. The Monster Among Men won a triple threat match on RAW to secure a spot in the RAW men’s Survivor Series team.
According to a report from PWInsider, WWE have quietly made a pretty big change to Braun Strowman’s character. Although Strowman was a heel earlier this year, the report states that WWE now considers Braun Strowman to be a babyface:
"Although Strowman was flipped to the heel side on Smackdown after being pulled into a swamp by Bray Wyatt and just a few weeks ago, purposely nailed Keith Lee in the nether regions on the 10/20 edition of Monday Night Raw, Strowman is internally considered a babyface for the Raw brand. "
We feel that Strowman has the potential to be really successful as a babyface, especially if WWE give his character more of an edge than their traditional babyfaces.
#4 Hope isn’t true - Vince McMahon may have given up on Peyton Royce’s singles push
When WWE split up The IIconics, reports suggested that Vince McMahon has earmarked Peyton Royce for a big singles push on RAW. Royce even beat Billie Kay on an episode of RAW.
However, since then, we have seen Peyton Royce appear alongside Lacey Evans and it looks like the pair are a team now. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Vince McMahon has already reportedly changed his mind about Peyton Royce’s singles push:
"They spent weeks trying to get Brooke & Rose over as a team, and they've got no other teams (they are trying to make Evans & Royce a team now after Vince breaking up Royce's other team so he could make Royce a single, pushing that for a few weeks and then changing his mind)."
Our issue with this is twofold. Firstly, Peyton Royce has a ton of talent and is someone who can definitely make an impact as a singles star. Secondly, seeing The IIconics split apart for no reason isn’t something that a lot of fans don't like.
#3 Hope is true - Chad Gable and Otis look set for an alliance
After a loss to Lars Sullivan a few weeks ago, Chad Gable announced that he was done being Shorty G. There were rumors at the time that Gable could be set for a push and that Vince McMahon himself was impressed with him.
As for Otis, he’s had a disappointing couple of months. First, Mandy Rose was traded over to RAW, followed by his best friend Tucker drafted to the Red brand later. To add insult to injury, Tucker turned on his best friend and tag team partner at Hell In A Cell and cost him his Money In The Bank contract.
On last Friday’s episode of SmackDown, we saw Otis get a clean win over Dolph Ziggler. Following his impressive outing, Otis was approached by Chad Gable backstage. Gable said that he wanted to recruit Otis to the “Alpha Academy”.
It looks like the duo are set to form an alliance. This could actually be good news for both men because it looks like WWE don’t have plans for them as singles stars at the moment. Gable’s athleticism and Otis’ infectious ability to entertain could lead to one very interesting tag team.
#3 Hope isn’t true - WWE may have to leave the ThunderDome
WWE has made the ThunderDome in the Amway Center their home for main roster shows in the last few months thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Fans have loved the ThunderDome from the moment we were introduced to the cutting-edge concept. However, according to a report from PWInsider, WWE may have to leave the Amway Center next month:
"Unless there is a last second change, WWE will indeed be leaving Orlando's Amway Center arena for the Thunderdome. We are told that the company's production team currrently needs to clear out the venue no later than 12/5 due to The Orlando Magic needing the facility as the NBA is hoping to launch their next season during that time frame. There is no current confirmed plan for WWE's next move but we are told the company has looked into venues in several states to host The Thunderdome going forward, including Florida, Texas and Illinois, among others. Obviously, given the climate of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything is subject to change."
If WWE are indeed forced to move, we don’t yet know where they could move to next although ideas of hosting shows in an open air arena have been floated in the past.
#2 Hope is true - The Undertaker set for a new role in WWE following his retirement
The Undertaker looks set to bring down the curtains on his legendary career later this month at WWE Survivor Series. However, The Deadman seems keen to pass on his knowledge and experience to the next generation of WWE Superstars. In a recent appearance on Sony Sports India’s Extraaa Dhamaal, Undertaker opened up about wanting to pass his knowledge to the next generation:
"My career, I've more than exceeded all my own personal goals and never would I have imagined having a 30-year non-stop career with the WWE. I mean, in our world that just doesn't happen that often, to stay in one place for that long and I'm very proud of that fact that once I got to the WWE, I never left and all my dreams, all my goals, I've reached and now it's time to make new ones. New goals and then to pay all my experiences and my knowledge in this business and to try and pay it forward to the guys that are coming up behind me. I think that's kind of where my next goals are oriented towards... the next generations of sports entertainers."
In another interview with The Wrap, The Undertaker revealed that he has spoken to Triple H about a possible coaching role in the WWE Performance Center. It would be fantastic for up-and-coming Superstars to work under The Deadman if this does end up coming to fruition.
#2 Hope isn’t true - Hardy Boyz will not be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame anytime soon
The Hardy Boyz are definitely one of the most influential tag teams of all time. Despite being one of the most popular tag teams of all time, we may not see them inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame any time soon. This, of course, has to do with Matt Hardy being signed to AEW.
WWE legend and current AEW commentator Jim Ross spoke about it on his podcast Grillin JR:
"As long as Matt is with AEW, and again, we talked about him wrestling Sammy Guevara this weekend on pay-per-view, I wonder if that’ll be — how that will be. It’ll almost have to be, maybe, I might be wrong — is that Vince [will] say, ‘Yeah, they deserve to go in but when Matt leaves AEW, we’ll think about it’ and that may be the deal but Jeff is a star, and I had higher expectations for this match than we received, so I don’t know. It just let me down a little bit." H/T: Post Wrestling
Although we understand why WWE would choose to handle it this way, it is disappointing to the legions of Hardy Boyz fans.
#1 Hope is true - Multiple WWE legends are set to return at Survivor Series
The Undertaker’s farewell is set for WWE Survivor Series later this month and it looks like WWE are planning to send off The Deadman in style with a star-studded event. A number of WWE legends are set to return, including members of the Bone Street Krew. This was confirmed by former WWE Superstar Savio Vega on WrestlingInc Daily. Vega confirmed that he will be at Survivor Series:
"Yes, I got a call on Friday of last week before I got on the plane to New York City, and I was asked if I'd like to be in this big moment of The Undertaker / Mark Callaway's career. I'll be there as a friend, as a wrestler and as a BSK member, and when they called me and asked if I'd like to be there, of course, why not? He's my friend. He's a good person. So on the 21st, I'm flying to Orlando, and we're going to be at Survivor Series on the 22nd."
Vega also confirmed that several other BSK members will also be present at Survivor Series:
"So far, I'm going to be just there. Some of the BSK members are going to be there, and we'll see what happens. I hope something happens there. I'm just happy to be with my crew, my guys. You got Fatu (Rikishi), you got Papa Shango / The Godfather, you got Taker [and] you got the Godwinns. I mean, I'm happy just for that."
Kane is also rumored to be present at Survivor Series, as is WWE legend JBL.
#1 Hope isn’t true - Aleister Black’s recent request was turned down
The shocking news of Zelina Vega’s release from WWE and her Tweet supporting unionization has been the biggest story in the WWE Universe over the last couple of days. We also recently learned from WrestleVotes that Zelina Vega’s husband Aleister Black recently asked to be sent back to NXT. The request was refused by WWE management:
Here’s what WrestleVotes reported about the situation with Aleister Black:
"There's a bit more behind the scenes to the Zelina Vega release. Frustration from both sides is an understatement. While it can't be directly tied to today's news, Aleister Black recently requested to move back to NXT and was denied. Dissension amongst the parties involved."
WWE haven’t really done a whole lot with Aleister Black since he was sent up to the main roster. Black looked like a top prospect in NXT and it would have been interesting to see him back on the black and yellow brand.
