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Welcome to the third edition of wrestling rumours we hope are true and those we hope aren't. It's safe to say that it's been a rather interesting week in the world of pro wrestling. We witnessed the go-home shows to WWE Extreme Rules and RAW received poor reviews while SmackDown received the opposite, to nobody's surprise.
Fans already began to jump to conclusions about why Paul Heyman being in-charge would be a flop after one bad show. We would request anyone who thinks that way to be patient and let the shows play out over the course of the year. When the year is done, it would be a better time to look back and assess the reality behind it all. Either way, the wrestling rumour mill was abuzz throughout the week, with many interesting scoops coming in about WWE programming and AEW and all that's been happening and will happen.
Without dragging on much further, let's look at five rumours we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't!
#5. We hope is true: Creative support for Finn Balor
Fans have been frustrated with how WWE has utilised Finn Balor since his return in 2017, but those frustrations were amped up recently by the way he has been used as Intercontinental Champion.
Our very own Tom Colohue reported that people in the creative team are frustrated with the way Balor has been used, particularly because they feel he should be in the main events, while storylines written for him aren't being used.
One of his sources mentioned that a wrestler was even thrilled when told that he would feud with the Demon King, but it was reportedly scrapped. Why we hope this is true is because if there is huge support backstage and from creative, it means that there will be many options for Balor when the time comes for him to get pushed again.
#5. We hope isn't true: Bellas being the reason why Sasha Banks & Bayley dropped the tag team titles at WrestleMania 35
Everyone was frustrated when Sasha Banks and Bayley dropped the WWE Women's Tag Team titles after holding them for less than two months as the inaugural champions. It was believed that they were the right ones to establish the titles and instead, the IIconics won the titles at WrestleMania 35, much to people's shock.
Nikki Bella revealed on The Bella Twins Podcast that the plan was initially for the twins to return to WWE programming and feud with The IIconics. She said:
“Brie and I, we were gonna come back and fight for the tag titles after WrestleMania and we were gonna go against The IIconics for a few months,” Nikki said. “Deep down inside, I kept having this weird feeling that I needed to get an x-ray on my neck because for a while I wasn’t feeling okay. Brie knows that in December after Evolution, I just kept telling her that I feel off and my head doesn’t feel right…”
Nikki Bella earlier confirmed that she won't be returning to the ring ever again and that she can't physically compete in the ring anymore. While we do feel sad for her, it's perhaps for the best. We hope that Banks & Bayley's title reign wasn't wasted for a feud that WWE knew had a slim chance of happening.
#4. We hope is true: WWE scrapped a Ziggler-Ali feud
Dolph Ziggler wasn't present at all in 2019 when he returned to feud against Kofi Kingston at WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. There wasn't much excitement for the rivalry despite it being for the WWE title, but to both Kingston and Ziggler's credit, they did the best they could.
According to Fightful, there were plans for WWE to begin a Dolph Ziggler vs Ali feud, but plans were reportedly scrapped in favour of a Ziggler-Kevin Owens feud. We're glad that WWE decided to scrap it because it probably wouldn't have done any favours to Ali, even if/when he won.
As talented as Ziggler is, the time has passed for him and there isn't much that he does which generates much interest. With regards to his current feud against Kevin Owens, that's all Owens and we're glad it worked out because of Owens' face turn.
#4. We hope isn't true: Johnny Impact is done with Impact
It's hardly been a full year since Johnny Impact arrived at Impact Wrestling. He made on-and-off appearances but really began to commit around July of 2018. Being a household name, he was naturally pushed to the top instantaneously and even became the Impact Wrestling World Champion.
His star power suited the promotion, who was (and still is) doing really well from a creative standpoint, even if the ratings and money coming in said otherwise. Now, after finishing his contract, PWInsider has reported that Johnny Impact may already be done with the company with Slammiversary being over.
He was defeated by Rich Swann in an X-Division title match at the event. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Johnny Impact will choose between AEW and WWE, though he's in no rush since he considers acting as his primary career.
We hope that the rumour isn't true because he's a very valuable asset to Impact Wrestling, who will undoubtedly utilise him better than any other company will.
#3. We hope is true: Paul Heyman convinces Vince McMahon to make a major change
The arrival of Paul Heyman has raised a lot of expectations among fans. Given his history of creative success with ECW and as creative head of SmackDown during the first brand split, there has been a reason to be optimistic about the future of RAW and the product in general.
The backstage reaction, however, hasn't been as great. Given that Vince McMahon is still in charge, many have held back hope that there will be a major change. However, Fightful reported that Paul Heyman has gone to members of the creative team and told them that Vince McMahon "is coming to grips" with the fact that the show needs an upgrade. They wrote:
Sources told Fightful that Paul Heyman told several Raw creative team members Vince McMahon is “coming to grips with the fact” the show needs to be upgraded. It’s led to more optimism change is really coming this time.
This is something we hope is true and it genuinely means that there could be a big change coming.
#3. We hope isn't true: Bray Wyatt's in-ring return to be at SummerSlam
It's been nearly a year now since we've last seen Bray Wyatt inside a WWE ring. Post his run as tag team champions with Matt Hardy, Wyatt was given an extended leave, where he even became a father.
Wrestlevotes has reported that Bray Wyatt's in-ring return was planned for SummerSlam under Paul Heyman's rule.
Given that Bray Wyatt returned to television with his Firefly Fun House skits all the way back in April 22nd, making fans wait till SummerSlam seems a bit excessive. They've been teasing his re-debut for a while now and it really feels as though it's high time he makes his return to the ring again.
While holding off until SummerSlam definitely seems like the logical thing to do, perhaps WWE is waiting a bit too long to give Bray Wyatt the perfect platform.
#2. We hope is true: Wednesday nights for AEW
AEW's television show on TNT is a huge deal and as we all know, it's set to begin sometime around October, though the exact date is yet to be confirmed. During his appearance on The Steve Austin Show, Jim Ross gave a hint as to which weekday night wrestling fans can tune into to watch AEW.
"It's early October. ... I think it's going to air on a Wednesday night, but that hasn't been confirmed to me. Tuesdays and Thursdays are big basketball nights on TNT, and we sure as hell don't want to dance around their basketball schedule. Logically, by process of elimination, it looks like it's going to be Wednesday."
We fully agree with the decision if it does go to Wednesday nights. RAW is Monday and they don't want to mess around with other sports, as he mentioned. It's the perfect night and doesn't interrupt with any other wrestling program as well.
#2. We hope isn't true: The Undertaker vs Drew McIntyre planned for SummerSlam
There have been quite a few rumours going around about The Undertaker's quick return to WWE after a disastrous showing at Super ShowDown against Goldberg. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter did report that the plans for Undertaker vs Drew McIntyre aren't confirmed as yet, but the fact of the matter is that it's being considered.
There were even reports that stated that The Undertaker has "handpicked" Drew McIntyre as his next opponent, which is why the tag team match is happening at Extreme Rules in the first place. It would be interesting because for once, the plans aren't centred around Roman Reigns.
Either way, we genuinely hope that the plan is scrapped. While we would love for McIntyre to get the rub by beating a legend, it doesn't help that the legend is past his prime and can't move properly anymore.
#1. We hope is true: Braun Strowman in line for another monster push
It's safe to say that despite winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35, 2019 has been Braun Strowman's weakest year in WWE, bar none. He was supposed to be in a Universal title match against Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble but that got scrapped.
He even seemingly lost his push and was reportedly dealing with a niggling injury, though WON reported that the injury is a work. According to Sportskeeda's own Tom Colohue, Paul Heyman wants to push Braun Strowman back to his roots, i.e, to become a Monster again. His sources said:
“The idea is to get Strowman back to his roots as a monster, just destroying everything in his path. He hasn’t been used as effectively as he could be.”
Another source said:
“Heyman’s still the same guy who brought you ECW. He likes the technical style but he also likes big, destructive forces of nature. Braun is perfect for that.”
We genuinely hope this is true because Braun Strowman at his peak was the most over star in WWE. All he needs to do is wreak havoc and talk less.
#1. We hope isn't true: A fresh creative start before SummerSlam to happen
We must remember that SummerSlam is taking place half a month earlier than usual this time around. Wrestlevotes has reported that all the pre-existing plans for SummerSlam were subject to change the moment Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff's new roles were announced.
Given that Heyman has started and Bischoff is starting on the post-Extreme Rules SmackDown, they will be given a short time to quickly build rivalries for SummerSlam. While we are on board with the idea of a fresh creative start, less than one month to build the second biggest show of the year seems a bit of a stretch.
What's wrong in finishing up all the pre-planned storylines at SummerSlam and starting a fresh on the night after? Given that SummerSlam is huge, it's going to be awkward to see storylines and matches thrown together with a complete lack of build-up.
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