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We're off the heels of an extremely hot SummerSlam PPV and we now seem to have an idea going forward about the direction post-Summer. It's been just about a week since the biggest party of the summer ended and naturally, there's quite a bit of excitement with regards to what lies in the future.
Perhaps the biggest announcement from a programming perspective is the fact that WWE is bringing back King of The Ring after 5 years - with the competitors all being exciting, young, full-time Superstars and the matches in the announced brackets being quite exciting as well.
With regards to WWE programming, we are now in the build to Clash of Champions, while All Elite Wrestling starts gearing up for ALL OUT - less than two weeks from now. It's certainly going to be interesting to see how it all plays out and whether ALL OUT's expected success will bring the fire out of WWE.
Either way, let's look at the rumours this week and tell you which are the ones we hope are true and those we hope aren't!
#5. We hope is true: Jon Moxley's NJPW contract status
There has been some confusion with regards to Jon Moxley and NJPW. There has also reportedly been some tension between AEW (who he's contracted to) and NJPW as well, who he has a different type of contract with.
It's not known what the relationship between the two companies is like now, but Sports Illustrated reported that Jon Moxley's contract runs until January 4th - i.e, Wrestle Kingdom 14.
We hope this is true because Moxley has been doing fantastic at NJPW and deserves to have a bit of a part-time run once AEW programming starts. He should be able to defend the United States Title at the Tokyo Dome.
#5. We hope isn't true: Delaying Samoa Joe's face turn
Samoa Joe's character has been fluctuating a bit over the past few weeks. He's essentially been a heel since his time in NXT around late 2015 and has never turned babyface on the main roster...until a few weeks ago, when Roman Reigns was almost hit by a car - prompting Joe to act like a babyface for the first time.
It seemed like his face turn was complete when Roman Reigns apologized to him a night later, but this past week on RAW, Samoa Joe acted like a heel once again, defeating Sami Zayn in his home country, Canada.
Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio reported that it had more to do with the fact that they were in Canada, assuming that Zayn would be cheered over Joe. There are still plans to turn him down the line, but we don't know when.
We hope this isn't true because Samoa Joe had a very organic face turn and it was perfect because it fit the storyline as well. Hopefully, we get to see a babyface side of him soon or they really build up to it again.
#4. We hope is true: Reason for The Fiend not showing up on RAW
Bray Wyatt shocked the world with his "Fiend" character at SummerSlam as he squashed Finn Balor and showcased a whole new side of himself. It's already been dubbed as the most exciting character in all of WWE, but fans were disappointed when The Fiend didn't appear on the RAW after SummerSlam, with many believing that WWE wasn't capitalising on his momentum.
However, WWE's perspective on it is different and it's one that makes a lot more sense in the long run. According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, the decision was made to keep Wyatt off the show because they want to make "The Fiend" character feel special.
This means that we won't be seeing Wyatt on weekly TV, but that's a great thing because his character is one that needs to appear only occasionally. He's not a part-timer, but the nature of the character is such that he should not be wrestling on anything but PPVs.
Moreover, Ryan Satin also stated that WWE wants to make it feel as though he could strike at anytime, giving the unpredictability aspect to the character as well.
#4. We hope isn't true: Alicia Fox sent home after a drunk incident at SummerSlam weekend
The last 5-6 months have been rather disastrous for Alicia Fox. During WrestleMania time, she reportedly showed up to a live event intoxicated and even wrestled. This is obviously against WWE's policies and instead of her, Arn Anderson, who was the agent of her match - was held responsible and fired instead.
Fox even allegedly refused to go to rehab at the time and hasn't been seen on WWE TV since. She did show up at SummerSlam weekend, but things weren't any better. Casey Michael, who is the man behind Squared Circle Sirens tweeted that Alicia Fox was described to be extremely drunk and was sent home after an "incident".
We sincerely hope this isn't true because not only does this pose as a potential job-ender for Fox, but it really shows that she hasn't been in the best place. She denied rehab the first time and one can only wonder if she was offered to go again the second time.
But showing up to SummerSlam weekend intoxicated and then being sent home doesn't give her a good look at all.
#3. We hope is true: WWE expects Rey Mysterio's son to wrestle next year
Dominick Guiterrez, the son of Rey Mysterio, is no stranger to being in the spotlight and on WWE TV. He first appeared in 2005 and was a big part of the rather uncomfortable storyline between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio.
He even appeared briefly at some point a few months ago during Mysterio's feud against Samoa Joe. Dominick, who is 21 years old, has been training at Lance Storm's Wrestling Academy, which means he's in good hands.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE feels that Dominick isn't ready to step foot in the ring now, but hopes to have him ready by 2020 or so. We hope this is true, but at the same time, we also hope that they don't rush him into a big spot.
Naturally, there's a story to be told and that would involve Dominick being thrust in the spotlight right away, but we hope that he gets to train well at the Performance Center and go through the process for a few years before making it up to the main roster. We're just glad to know that WWE is keeping a close eye on him.
#3. We hope isn't true: A name change for Chad Gable
Chad Gable has been a Superstar that fans and critics alike have praised for years as a Superstar with main event potential. Clearly, he has never been given the time to shine on the main WWE Roster, having fluctuated from brand to brand to brand.
While he does have an opportunity at King of The Ring, it seems like his character doesn't exactly have a big ceiling. According to PWInsider, WWE might be planning a name change for Chad Gable and it's not exactly a flattering one.
We noted a couple weeks ago that WWE has copyrighted the name ‘Shorty G’ for a potential character. If Chad Gable is going to be ‘Shorty G,’ if that’s where they’re going with it — I don’t sense a bunch of upward mobility in his future with his character.
We really hope this isn't true because it would basically kill off the potential that Chad Gable has. He already is a tremendous superstar and steals the show at every given opportunity. The problem is that he's not afforded many opportunities to succeed while they should have ideally given him Jason Jordan's spot by now.
#2. Jeff Hardy teasing bringing back his TNA character
Jeff Hardy has been out of action since post-WrestleMania. His leg injury meant that he would be out of action for 6-9 months and while no official word has been given on his return, the general expectation is that he will be back around November, though he could also end up returning a month later.
During his rest, Hardy has been keeping himself busy and unfortunately got arrested in South Carolina for being publicly intoxicated. That aside, Hardy posted a rather interesting video on Instagram. He seemed to be in a jam room where he was performing a cover of Staind's "It's Been Awhile".
In that video, there was an abrupt cut where he suddenly returned as his old "Willow" character in TNA and started laughing maniacally. While it doesn't necessarily mean he's bringing it back, we hope this is true because there's no other reason why he would randomly edit that into a clip for the sake of Instagram.
Hardy returning as his "Willow" character would be interesting because it's a good direction for him to take upon his return. It's unlikely he'll team with his brother, which means that he needs a refreshing change for his singles run.
#2. We hope isn't true: WWE creative planning a New Day-Revival feud
The Revival vs The New Day was seemingly teased this past week on SmackDown Live and according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, creative have been planning a rivalry between The New Day and The Revival.
While it is a dream feud on paper, we really hope that it doesn't happen simply because of the brand split. WWE was supposed to quietly end the split after SummerSlam. The good news, however, is that it's a feud that hasn't been officially approved by Vince McMahon as yet.
Cageside Seats wrote:
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The New Day vs. The Revival for the SmackDown tag team titles has been pitched to Vince McMahon but he hasn’t approved it yet.
We do understand WWE's perspective in that they need legitimate challengers for The New Day at Clash of Champions, but the blue brand does actually have a division and it's one that they must utilise rather than relying on Superstars from RAW.
Moreover, it gives a future interaction between the two teams less value. They could still clash at Survivor Series if they're both champions, but it's hard to predict.
#1. We hope is true: Roman Reigns signs a new long-term contract with WWE
Roman Reigns has had a surprisingly good run of form in 2019 - especially given that many had ruled him out from wrestling in 2019 at all. However, with all due credit to him and credit to WWE as well, they've done a fantastic job with him since his return.
He's not been the central figure of programming nor has he hogged up the top spot and been constantly featured as a title contender. If anything, he has been utilised perfectly and his match against Buddy Murphy truly proved that he can help make some Superstars as well.
Given his health, we nor Reigns himself seem to be certain about how long he has left. It's clear that it's only been a few years and in interviews, Reigns has suggested that he could be going full-time anywhere between two to five years.
You would think that it's somewhere in between and that could perhaps be true, as Roman Reigns has signed a new long-term contract, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet.
We really hope this is true because we would love to see Reigns at the top of his game while he's still able to go.
#1. We hope isn't true: Uncertainty with Rusev's WWE status
Rusev hasn't really had much going his way in 2019. He lost the United States title at the first PPV of the year and since failed to regain it. He was also briefly in a tag team with Shinsuke Nakamura and that just quietly came to a close as well.
Currently, he's on a hiatus and nobody really knows what his next step is - except for Rusev himself, of course (or so he says). Dave Meltzer revealed on the Wrestling Observer Radio that Rusev's contract is coming to an end soon and stated that he wouldn't be surprised if Rusev left.
I think his deal is up relatively soon, I heard. Nothing confirmed. We know he’s not happy because he’s not there and he asked for a leave of absence. That may mean that they’re going to freeze him [his contract] while he does that [takes time off]. Him leaving would not surprise me at all.
The situation is probably similar to Lana. We really hope this isn't true because they're valuable competitors to the company. With that said, we wouldn't blame them at all if they left.
