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Welcome to this week's edition of "Wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't"! The news this past week has been about the mass releasing of employees that WWE did, ranging from talent to backstage producers and various other staff.
That also means that this rumor roundup will be focusing a lot on the past week and what's been happening with the releases. Let's jump right into it.
#5. Hope is true: Pressure on the locker room leaders following the releases
The mass releasing that WWE did this past week wasn't met with a pleasant response, with the entire locker room said to be angered and disappointed at the way things have been handled with their colleagues.
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According to Tom Colohue on Dropkick DiSKussions, there's quite a bit of pressure towards the locker room leaders such as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to possibly form a union that helps protect talent:
I think everyone knows who the locker room leaders are in the WWE but there are talent who have been with the company for a while who are looking at those indispensable people, people who are not going to be fired under any circumstances and they are saying to them, 'You need to help us.' I know there is at least a small movement in wrestling to make this happen, whether or not those locker room leaders will listen? We'll have to wait and see but someone has to be very brave is this has to get off the ground.
We hope this is true because it could mean a huge change in wrestling. Whether it happens or not is something to be seen in itself, but right now, it's clear that a change is needed and that talent must be protected more.
#5. Hope isn't true: Samoa Joe's return status
Samoa Joe has been out of action for a while with a concussion. The last year for him has been a bit forgettable from a creative perspective, with the highlight of it being his United States Championship win at WrestleMania 35 after defeating WWE legend Rey Mysterio. While Mysterio would win it back, an injury meant that he would hand it back to Joe, making him a two-time United States Champion.
The last storyline that he was involved in was aligning with Kevin Owens and The Viking Raiders against Seth Rollins and his faction of Murphy and The AoP. He would suffer a concussion around then and has been out of action since, missing out on WrestleMania for the 3rd time since 2017.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Samoa Joe is still out of action as he hasn't been cleared from the concussion.
We hope this isn't true because it could mean something more serious. However, there's also the possibility of Joe not being called upon after WWE moved all their shows to the Performance Center and that he's sitting at home as a protocol.
#4. Hope is true: Lana's status after Rusev got released
Rusev was one of the names in the list of Superstars that was released and it certainly came as a big shock for fans, especially given how important he has been to WWE programming over the years.
While he's only been in the World Championship picture on one occasion, he has multiple United States title wins to his name and has spent time in WWE programming both as a heel and a beloved babyface.
His last storyline was one involving Lana and Bobby Lashley and it abruptly ended due to the Bulgarian suffering an injury. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Lana won't be cut from WWE:
Rusev was released just days after pledging a $20,000 donation for people in the company who weren’t under contract that worked at arena shows that were shut down. He hadn’t been used much of late and was involved in a contract dispute. His wife, Catherine Jo Perry (Lana) will not be cut.
We hope this is true because she doesn't deserve it, as with the other talent.
#4. Hope isn't true: Superstars were released by WWE with no prior warning
The WWE Superstars and staff being released led to a big uproar on social media. What many people weren't aware of was the nature of how it happened. A statement was made about the upcoming cuts, following which talent relations had to start making calls informing superstars that they were being cut.
Tom Colohue told Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions that all of it came out of nowhere:
It came out of nowhere and almost immediately after the talent were informed that there would be cuts and all staff were told, the producers, the writers were told that there would be cuts. Phone calls were immediately started to be made. The first five people announced by the WWE, they had been contacted immediately afterwards. They had no warning.
He proceeded to say that the batch of releases was a surprise to all and nobody knew this was coming. We hope this isn't true, but from the look of things, it appears to be.
#3. Hope is true: Some Superstars got their way out
We understand that the release of over 20 Superstars and leaving them unemployed wasn't the best move to make, but for some Superstars, there appears to be a positive spin on all of it.
Tom Colohue explained to Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions that for some Superstars, the release wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At the start of the year, there were rumors about many Superstars asking for their release, with some being granted it and some being denied. He revealed that WWE looked at many of the superstars who didn't want to stay and realized that it was an opportune time to release them.
He named Rusev and Deonna Purrrazo, both of whom made it clear that they weren't upset about their release. He proceeded, saying:
You look at what's happened with The Revival, they have been pushing for their release for a while, they finally got it but it took them to nearly the end of their contract. They have been clear the whole time that they don't want to be there. So while I don't think it's many people on this list, Rusev being one of them, there are definitely I believe a few people who won't be disappointment by getting the release they were looking for.
We hope this is true for the Superstars who wanted to be released in the first place. We feel for those who haven't, but we're glad to hear that for some, there's a silver lining.
#3. Hope isn't true: An NXT veteran was never getting called-up pre-release
Kassius Ohno/Chris Hero has been released from his WWE contract for the second time in his career. This time around, the circumstances were a bit different. He came in past his prime and it seemed clear from the start that he was closer to an enhancement talent on the NXT brand.
Ohno is considered one of the brightest minds in wrestling, having taken up a veteran role in NXT before being released. Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio (WOR) revealed that there was never any plan for Ohno to be moved out or even pushed in NXT:
Kassius Ohno is a name that came out technically this morning, I think he was fired Wednesday Night. He was kind of like a player-coach and I mean I get. Well, this is what I get. He was never going to be brought up to the main roster, I think that was very clear and he was never going to be pushed that hard on NXT.
We hope this isn't true because Ohno deserved a token run on the main roster, but we understand the logic behind it given his age. Hopefully, he can return as a coach in the WWE Performance Center.
#2. Hope is true: AEW could still pick up a few released Superstars
Over the last few years, WWE had a slightly questionable strategy when it came to talent. They now have a roster filled with all the best female wrestlers in the world, barring a few like Tessa Blanchard.
WWE seemingly signed talent in bulk to prevent All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and other competition from signing them, but with all the releases that have happened, it's not something that seems practical anymore.
According to Dave Meltzer on WOR, AEW may not be picking up many Superstars, but there's a chance that they could still end up signing a few of the released Superstars from WWE:
They have way way too much talent for the slots that they had. And the reason they had so much talent is because they didn't want AEW, you know, to get talent. I mean, that was the key, so they were stockpiling talent. And right now, obviously, everything's changed with AEW in the sense of, they're... it's not like they're going to be able to pick up a ton of guys. You know, it wouldn't shock me if they pick up a couple of guys but they're not going to pick up a lot of guys.
#2. Hope isn't true: WWE to furlough injured Superstars?
Furloughing of employees has been happening all across the world and from the look of things, WWE is no exception to that. While it could already be in effect, Tom Colohue told Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions that we can start expecting news about furloughs to Superstars, especially for injured Superstars:
Also, it's very possible that we are going to start hearing about furloughs for wrestlers particularly ones who are injured. There's a number of them that maybe they simply want to stop paying them for this period. We've heard about this before when WWE will extend someone's contract when they have been out with an injury. Happened to The Revival, happened to Luke Harper. We've heard about this before, now instead of doing that, they can furlough them.
We hope this isn't true because with all the cuts happening already, furloughs don't seem necessary. While we doubt Superstars will be struggling financially with the money they earn, WWE is still in a position where they can afford to proceed without furloughs.
#1. Hope is true: The actual reason why Roman Reigns missed WrestleMania 36
There was a lot of concern about Roman Reigns after he pulled out of WrestleMania 36 against Goldberg. He was replaced by Braun Strowman, who ended up winning the WWE Universal Championship.
Roman Reigns addressed the situation on Muscle & Fitness, revealing that he has two newborns with his wife Galina Becker and indicated at it being the reason for him withdrawing from WrestleMania 36:
All you know is what you think. ‘Oh, well his health’ and this and that, but … you don’t know what else is going on in my life. You don’t know if I have newborns. You don’t know if I have family in my household, older family.”
We hope this is true because it's positive news among all the negativity, not just in WWE, but all over the world. Moreover, it puts to rest any worry about his health and eventual return to WWE.
There were rumors about how WWE sent out an order to avoid mentioning Roman Reigns name, which makes sense as they may not be sure when he's returning.
#1. Hope isn't true: Plans for The Revival pre-release
The Revival's Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are finally free agents, having made it clear that they had no desire to stay in WWE. Perhaps it was due to the need to take opportunities elsewhere, but it was evident that WWE wasn't planning on utilizing them as they would have liked.
It wasn't the first time that there were rumors about the duo asking for their release and ahead of the mass releasing that happened this past week, the two were finally let go of their contract.
They rejected big-money deals from WWE, possibly indicating that their run with the company was more than just about the financial compensation. There was a report from BodySlam that WWE planned to give The Revival a comedy gimmick with new gear and ring music. When asked about it, Dash Wilder, now known as Cash Wheeler, responded "Plead the fifth", seemingly confirming that the reports were true:
We hope it isn't true as it would have been a terrible gimmick for a team like The Revival. They're better off as free agents now.
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