5 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: Vince McMahon sees current star as the "next Kurt Angle", WWE cancels SummerSlam title match?

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE and wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't! We're starting off August with a big edition and as always, we'll be focusing on storylines, backstage stories, pushes, potential injuries, contract talks, and much more.

Without dragging it much further, let's jump right into the WWE rumors of the week and those that we hope are true and those we hope aren't!

#5. Hope is true: WWE wants to push Chad Gable; Vince McMahon wants to create new stars

Chad Gable is without a doubt among the top five most underutilized stars in WWE. Even when Jason Jordan was getting a push to set him up as a main-eventer, many fans believed that WWE had picked the wrong American Alpha member.

Jason Jordan's in-ring status seems all but confirmed at this point and since then, WWE has still not utilized Chad Gable/Shorty G as much as they should have. The furthest he's gotten is a Tag Team title reign on RAW and then a King of the Ring finals appearance last year.

He finally turned heel on SmackDown on July 31st, aligning with the man who beat him to win the King of the Ring tournament - King Corbin. Tom Colohue spoke about this in his SmackDown review and revealed that Vince McMahon wants to push Chad Gable and sees a lot of Kurt Angle in him:

Baron Corbin has apparently been pushing for more opportunities for people and this is one of the ways that Vince McMahon believes that they can push new stars. Chad Gable is someone that he wants to push purely because of his in-ring talent. Apparently he sees a lot of Kurt Angle in Chad Gable."

We hope this is true because Chad Gable deserves a big opportunity and a big break. There's no questioning his credibility in the ring and if given the chance, he would likely knock the ball out of the park with his character as well.

It's a good time to give Chad Gable an opportunity and WWE might find that they have an extremely special talent in him.

#5. Hope isn't true: WWE cancels a major SummerSlam title match?

One of the feuds that were teased going into SummerSlam was supposed to lead to AJ Styles defending the Intercontinental Championship against Matt Riddle in what would have been another SummerSlam classic for him.

AJ Styles has had a string of great SummerSlam opponents, having faced and defeated John Cena, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, and Ricochet last year. While it would have likely made him go 5-0 at SummerSlam, Tom Colohue revealed why there was a change in plans for SummerSlam:

"But at the same time, that's sort of abandoning what was going to be a feud between Otis and [Baron] Corbin. Otis became unavailable and that meant that Corbin was able to move to Riddle. That is why AJ Styles vs Matt Riddle has not been a prolonged feud leading into SummerSlam. A few changes were last-minute there."

We hope this isn't true because Matt Riddle vs King Corbin at SummerSlam doesn't seem to be the right direction to go. Matt Riddle presents a much more high-profile opponent for AJ Styles at WWE SummerSlam and there's now a lack of opponents for the Intercontinental Champion. Who will WWE choose to face The Phenomenal One?

#4. Hope is true: Rey Mysterio's WWE contract status

What's been happening between Rey Mysterio and WWE?

It seems as though Dominik Mysterio's immediate in-ring future in WWE depends on whether his father Rey Mysterio signs a contract. According to Tom Colohue on Dropkick DiSKussions, WWE has a few options for Dominik's future and might be using it to pursue Rey Mysterio to sign a new contract:

"The Mysterios vs. Rollins & Murphy feud is really up in the air at the minute. It is currently on the SummerSlam agenda to have Rey and Dominik Mysterio against Seth Rollins and Murphy. However, that really depends on if Rey Mysterio signs a new deal. It's also possible that we could see Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins in a singles match, but that would be done as a way to convince Rey Mysterio, by saying that here, 'we're pushing your son'."

We hope this is true because Rey Mysterio deserves a good but short contract if he's intent on ending his WWE and potentially in-ring career. From the look of things, his future also depends on how WWE intends to handle Dominik Mysterio. We still fully expect Rey Mysterio to sign a WWE contract - possibly his final one as Dominik prepares to make his in-ring debut for WWE.

#4. Hope isn't true: WWE looking to get a crowd for SummerSlam?

WWE SummerSlam 2020 is almost here and from the look of things and according to various reports, Vince McMahon doesn't want this to be just another empty arena show inside the WWE Performance Center.

It's going to be interesting to see how WWE thinks outside the box. Some of the cinematic matches have proven that having matches outside of a singular setting can often lead to good viewing.

The idea of SummerSlam in an external venue seems fine, just so long as WWE continues to test people for COVID-19 and use social distancing protocols. According to WrestleVotes, WWE is reportedly attempting to have an outdoor show with a limited set of fans.

WWE has looked into hosting SummerSlam within the Northeast at an outdoor location w/ limited fans, and as of now, have found no interested states in allowing that to happen.
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) July 29, 2020

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We hope this isn't true, even if WWE follows all the safety protocols. Having fans around won't help WWE going forward in the pandemic and they're going to have to resist the urge to bring fans in, even if the TV shows and PPVs are missing the desired fan reactions.

#3. Hope is true: Why Kofi Kingston is off for six weeks from WWE

Former WWE Champion Kofi Kingston mentioned on SmackDown that he's injured and will be out for six weeks. In the time that he's away, Kingston told Big E to begin his singles run and gave him his blessing as well.

For the first time in over half a decade in WWE, Big E is going to have a singles run. Despite his potential as a singles performer, he's always been associated with someone or the other.

When asked about the specific injury Kofi Kingston is facing, Tom Colohue revealed on Dropkick DiSKussions that the former WWE Champion is fine and that he's taken time off to quarantine with his family:

Kofi is absolutely fine. He has just been given six weeks off to take a quarantine period, go and see his family, take a quarantine period and then come back to work.

We hope this is true because it's a lot better than having to deal with another injury. It's an opportune time for Kofi Kingston to spend time with his family - something that he hasn't had a lot of time to do in his WWE career.

#3. Hope isn't true: Nia Jax makes another botch on WWE RAW

It seems like WWE RAW star Nia Jax is going to be involved in a rare heel vs heel feud, where she's expected to face Shayna Baszler soon in what could determine the next RAW Women's title contender.

According to Dave Meltzer of WON, Nia Jax was responsible for another botch on RAW. Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:

Dave Meltzer has now revealed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Nia Jax was supposed to rip the shirt off Buck but it instead, got stuck and Nia Jax couldn't get it over his head. Meltzer found it odd that WWE didn't retape the moment as it was a pre-taped show.

We hope this isn't true because, at this point, people might have already started keeping a botch count for Nia Jax. Luckily enough, it didn't hurt anyone, but had Shayna Baszler been injured, it could make WWE seriously look towards halting Nia Jax's potential push.

Had it been a decade or more ago, we doubt she would have been in as good a position as she is now.

#2. Hope is true: Paul Heyman's mentality as the WWE RAW Executive Director

If your name isn't AJ Styles or a select few members of the WWE roster, then your impression of Paul Heyman might be a fairly good one. Paul Heyman was recently released from his role as WWE RAW Executive Director and things have changed since then.

However, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com reported that Paul Heyman had a healthy, competitive mentality with SmackDown and was proud of the WWE stars he helped push. Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:

It has been revealed that Paul Heyman took the idea of the rivalry between RAW and SmackDown really seriously. His seriousness, quite often than not, was the driving force behind how RAW was booked. It had a significant effect on the mentality of how Heyman built RAW. During his time as the Executive Director, Paul Heyman was very proud of the Superstars that he helped get recognition in the eyes of the management. Those names include Austin Theory, Apollo Crews, Angel Garza, and several other Superstars who were not being used before Paul Heyman's appointment.

We hope this is true because it shows that it wasn't all bad with Paul Heyman around, despite AJ Styles' recent comments giving a new view. Paul Heyman may have been the right man to carry RAW forward. WWE just needed to give him time.

#2. Hope isn't true: WWE's "emergency" breakup plan?

There was an interesting bit on RAW where Seth Rollins forced Murphy to do to Aleister Black what he had done to Rey Mysterio - damage his eye. Murphy was hesitant at first but ended up executing his orders. According to Tom Colohue on Dropkick DiSKussions, it was a tease of dissent just in case WWE is forced to go with an "emergency" feud:

With that said, we hope that Rey Mysterio signs a WWE contract and that he and Dominik can have a SummerSlam program with Seth Rollins."There is an emergency back-up situation that being Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy as a potential feud. That's why they teased it this week, but they could very easily just abandon that completely."

We hope this isn't true because Murphy deserves to have a nice, lengthy alliance with Seth Rollins that has a great payoff at the end of it. The goal should be to establish Murphy as a full-fledged singles star, but that's less likely to happen if they choose to break the duo up just for an emergency last-minute plan.

#1. Hope is true: 'Unhappy' AJ Styles not leaving WWE for AEW

AJ Styles has constantly been pushed as a high-level main event talent since he arrived in WWE. The fact that he's the Intercontinental Champion now goes to show that he's always viewed as a reliable worker in WWE's eyes.

However, it seems clear that he's been unhappy of late. From his recent rants about Paul Heyman to botching Gran Metalik's name on commentary (and allegedly getting told off for it), Tom Colohue revealed that AJ Styles isn't too happy in WWE now, but that doesn't mean that he's leaving for AEW:

What I do know is that until recently, AJ Styles has been very happy with the WWE, and there is no guarantee that going to AEW would be the right call for him. For example, Gallows and Anderson didn't. At the moment, AEW doesn't seem to be hiring, or at least isn't hiring big-name stars like AJ Styles. Essentially, I think AJ Styles is too rich for their blood. However, we'll have to wait and see. Also, AJ Styles has a very long contract with the WWE right now. There are many years left on that, so you're unlikely to see him go anywhere, anytime soon."

We hope this is true because WWE is AJ Styles' home now and the best possible place for him to end his storied career.

#1. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon's bizarre blame tactic for WWE releases

Who was responsible for Gallows & Anderson's release

Out of all the WWE releases that happened this past April, none seems to be getting more attention than WWE letting go of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.

The Good Brothers, who recently signed with IMPACT Wrestling, were part of the release list and they revealed that Paul Heyman was allegedly responsible for letting them go, which is what led to AJ Styles' recent bitterness.

Dave Meltzer of WON revealed that the sole decision to release a Superstar lies with Vince McMahon and revealed how it's a classic story dating back to more than three decades ago:

'This was the classic story we’ve heard for more than 30 years, when Vince would want someone gone. He’d use his head of talent relations as his buffer, whether it be J.J. Dillon, Jim Ross, John Laurinaitis or others in that role. The idea was that the talent believed Vince loved their work, and liked them personally, but the other person, fill in the blank, didn’t like them and were responsible for them being gone.''

We hope this isn't true because it seems to be a backward tactic from Vince McMahon and WWE.

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Edited by Zaid Khan