5 Wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: Repackaged Superstar behind SmackDown 'hacker' storyline, Vince McMahon refuses to turn popular heel into babyface?

Welcome to this week's edition of "Wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't". This week's edition isn't as grim as last week, which was filled with rumors about the releases in WWE.

We're getting closer to Money in the Bank and new storylines are emerging while new stars could also be on the rise. Let's jump right into it:

#5. Hope is true: The men behind the SmackDown hacker storyline

SPOILER ALERT. If you don't want spoilers regarding the 'SmackDown hacker' storyline, then skip to the next page.

Over the past couple of months, glitch-like graphics started appearing on SmackDown in the middle of the show. It re-appeared almost every week, indicating that it was leading to something bigger.

The hacker made his first move before WrestleMania, exposing Sonya Deville and Dolph Ziggler, leading to the end of Deville's partnership with Mandy Rose. The hacker teased returning.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), the two names behind the SmackDown hacker storyline could be Mustafa Ali and a repackaged Chad Gable. Sportskeeda's Abhilash Mendhe wrote:

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that there's backstage talk in WWE about the mystery hacker being revealed as two current Superstars. The Superstars in question are Chad Gable and Mustafa Ali, with the former possibly being repackaged for this role.

Mustafa Ali has been the name speculated for a while:

There has been tons of speculation as of late in regards to Ali being revealed as the mystery hacker, somewhere down the line. After watching the "Truth Will Be Heard" videos that recently aired on the Blue brand, many speculated that Ali could be the hooded figure who appeared in the clips.

We hope this is true because Chad Gable more than anyone needs to be repackaged. It also gives Ali an interesting storyline to be a part of.

#5. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon refuses to turn Bray Wyatt face?

Bray Wyatt has been one of the most intriguing Superstars in WWE over the last seven years. While he isn't the slickest or best in-ring performer, he's the perfect example of how a strong character is always more important.

It's hard to believe that in the last seven years of his main roster run, he's only been a babyface for a few months between April to August 2018 before taking a long hiatus and returning as 'The Fiend'.

While it makes sense for 'The Fiend' to be a heel, Tom Colohue told Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions that it's only Vince McMahon who's pushing the idea of Bray Wyatt as a heel:

"The person really pushing these feuds and the idea that Bray Wyatt is a heel is Vince McMahon. He wants Bray Wyatt to be used as a heel. He wants Bray Wyatt to push faces. Unfortunately, we've now got this system where anyone feuding with Bray Wyatt ends up switching from heel to face or face to heel. You get that bizarre RAW after WrestleMania feel from the guy, but Vince McMahon never got the RAW after WrestleMania either"

We hope this isn't true because the door for a face turn should always be open for Wyatt. We've never seen what Wyatt can truly do as a babyface. The most we've seen out of it (apart from 2018) was a two to three-week run he had as a face in 2016 before he got injured.

#4. Hope is true: Possible plans for Drake Maverick upon release

The case of Drake Maverick has turned out to be an interesting one. He was among the list of 20+ Superstars that WWE released early last week. Despite this, he's continued to compete in the "Interim Cruiserweight title" tournament, with the commentators acknowledging the fact that he's been released.

While he lost the first match, he still has two matches left to advance. Dave Meltzer mentioned this on WOR and explained how it might play out:

The Drake Maverick stuff is really interesting. I mean that's the most interesting stuff on the show. They're playing it up really big that he's been fired but he's still in the tournament anyway and he's doing these tearful things and he wrestled Jake Atlas and lost. No matter what they were going to do he was going to lose the first one. So now his back's against the wall. He can still advance with the 2 in 1 record out of the block. If he loses the next match, I could not even comprehend how absolutely ridiculous this is, but if he wins the next two then it sort of makes sense.

He elaborated, revealing that Maverick is on the same deal as Sarah Logan, who was also released:

But they are doing all this and it's like, is he going to get unfired? I mean win the whole thing and then he's going to be unfired, then he's got to be the champion. I don't know if that's the plan, considering they just fired him last week. As of this afternoon, he was under the same deal as Sarah Logan, which is that they are going to use them but they are still fired.

We hope this is true because it would be great to see him come back and win his first Championship in WWE. He's a great talent and even if he doesn't win the title this time around, we have no doubt that he will return in the future.

#4. Hope isn't true: WWE taking a U-turn with Lana-Bobby Lashley storyline?

Lana and Bobby Lashley have been an on-screen couple since the end of September 2019. In the last few months, it's appeared as though the two would be headed for a split, particularly after Lashley was furious at her for losing to Aleister Black at WrestleMania 36.

The consensus was that the decision to separate the two was a good one, particularly since it would allow WWE to rebuild Lashley as a serious singles star and a potential Brock Lesnar opponent someday.

However, Dave Meltzer told Bryan Alvarez on the Wrestling Observer Radio (WOR) that they're now trying to get back together, indicating a U-turn in the original plan for the storyline.

Alvarez: Did they totally drop this storyline?

Meltzer: They're back like trying to make up.

Alvarez: Dude, they are happy as can be, she is fawning all over him, he's perfectly happy with her, they're just having a great old time.

Meltzer: Maybe they made up!

We hope this isn't true since it would be much better to prioritize pushing Lashley as a singles star. The storyline ran out of steam a while ago and it's best to move on from it.

#3. Hope is true: Two released stars secured $750,000 deals before getting released

Many Superstars were on the edge about whether they wanted to re-sign with WWE when contracts were being offered. While the circumstances have changed and WWE has done the releasing, it's interesting to know what happened before all of it.

Two names who were rumored to have asked for a release were Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson - 2/3rds of The OC. Dave Meltzer revealed on WOR that before their release, Gallows & Anderson stayed by securing big-money deals:

No. They didn't ask for their release, umm, they were making $750,000 a year. They are not going to, you know, they didn't want to stay for what they were offered but when it got to 750, you get to a number where it's all of sudden like, 'Okay, we're not going to anywhere close to that elsewhere and it's like they hit a number.' At $500,000 they were willing to go, but $750,000, that was a different mentality.

We hope this is true because it's always great for Superstars to get what they're worth. Moreover, it gives them great bargaining power if WWE approaches them again in the future.

#3. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon's behavior on SmackDown

The 24th April episode of Friday Night SmackDown ended with a segment celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Game Triple H and his legendary career. The first person who joined him was his former rival and best friend Shawn Michaels.

Vince McMahon made an appearance as well, paying tribute to Triple H. However, he was notably off in terms of delivery and the content of the promo. WrestleVotes revealed that it was just an extension of what his demeanor has been like this these past couple of weeks:

WrestleVotes recently posted a tweet, which features an exchange with a fan via private messaging. The fan asked the handle about Vince's promo from last night, to which Wrestlevotes responded by stating that his demeanor has been the same for the past two weeks or so. As per Wrestlevotes, several factors could be responsible for the same, including the coronavirus pandemic, WrestleMania 36 being moved from the Raymond James Stadium to the WWE Performance Center, and the XFL suspending operations. Check out the screengrab highlighting the conversation, below:

We hope this isn't true. It has been a hectic time for WWE, but this wouldn't make matters any better.

#2. Hope is true: Backstage decision on Superstars and employees working during COVID-19

The recent event of WWE mass releasing employees led many to criticize the company. There was an anonymous person named John who claimed to be an employee of WWE and accused the company of making the employees work against their will during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tom Colohue responded to this on Dropkick DiSKussions, telling Korey Gunz that there's plenty of proof that WWE gives the option to employees and never forces them to work:

We've seen a lot of examples of WWE being in a position where they could force people - everything with Saudi Arabia, anyone who says they don't want to work in Saudi Arabia is permitted to not work there. The same is true here. You look at what happened with Roman Reigns, you look at Rey Mysterio and Dana Brooke taking time off. People have been allowed to say 'I'm taking time off. I'm not coming in', but as with anything in the WWE, it is at the expense of a potential push. You cannot be pushed if you're not there"

We hope this is true and that it applies to employees backstage and working in the corporate headquarters as well.

#2. Hope isn't true: Reason behind Shinsuke Nakamura's descent to the midcard

Shinsuke Nakamura has had an uneventful 2020 so far

There's no denying that fans had much higher expectations of Shinsuke Nakamura on the main roster when he debuted in 2017. His first year turned out to be a great one, beating the likes of John Cena, challenging for the WWE Championship, winning the Royal Rumble, and then turning heel after losing a WWE title match to AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34.

However, after he lost his feud to Styles, he began to slip down the card. Despite lengthy reigns with the United States Championship and Intercontinental Championship, they didn't hold too much significance and he seems to be Sami Zayn's sidekick right now along with Cesaro.

Dave Meltzer spoke about Shinsuke Nakamura on WOR and how over he was in 2017-18. He revealed that his first SmackDown feud and a segment with Dolph Ziggler is what started a 'slow-motion descent' to the midcard:

It was Dolph Ziggler, man. It was him comparing him (Nakamura) to Michael Jackson. When they had him doing the paintings and talk about doing his masterpiece. It was a slow-motion descent into the mid-card.

We hope this isn't true, but several other factors led to the descent as well. However, the fact of the matter is that Nakamura is in the later stage of his career, closing in on retirement. Meltzer revealed that Nakamura has 'checked out' and is more than happy to play out the rest of his career without taking too much damage while collecting a good paycheck.

#1. Hope is true: Paul Heyman pushed to get an underutilized star on RAW

Paul Heyman has changed the direction of RAW drastically since taking over as the Executive Director nine months ago. He's had a list of Superstars that he's been pushing, including the likes of Drew McIntyre, Aleister Black, (Buddy) Murphy, Ricochet, etc.

Another name that he seems to have pushed for is Apollo Crews, who has been having the best two weeks of his WWE career. Following a narrow loss to Aleister Black, he would bounce back and defeat WWE legend MVP to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match.

Tom Colohue spoke about Apollo Crews on Dropkick DiSKussions and said that there are a few people who wanted to see him get pushed. One of those names is Paul Heyman:

There are definitely a few people who wanted to see him pushed. Paul Heyman wanted to get a hold of him on RAW. He got him and we saw a great match with Aleister Black and he's had a match with MVP now.

We hope this is true because Heyman working on Apollo Crews would be a great way to get his career on the right track. It's no secret that he has all the tools, but he has a lot of work to do in the character department. Hopefully, Paul Heyman can help change that.

#1. Hope isn't true: Plans for Braun Strowman's Universal Championship reign

Braun Strowman finally won the Universal Championship that's been eluding him for the last three years at WrestleMania 36. It's clear that had Roman Reigns not pulled out, he would have been the man holding the Universal Championship.

Strowman might be the Champion purely by circumstance, but he has a major match at Money in the Bank against 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt. With Wyatt being the Universal Champion early this year, the plan seemed to have been for him to have a clash against Roman Reigns,

Tom Colohue told Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions that the plan might be to go back to where they were earlier this year, i.e, with Bray Wyatt as the Universal Champion:

"They've shown faith in Braun Strowman, but there's a lack of depth at the top of SmackDown. And that's why they've been bringing in John Cena and Goldberg. Now without Roman Reigns, there aren't many people left that Strowman can face, especially on the heel side. You've technically got Daniel Bryan, but he's a face and he's involved in something else. So there aren't that many opportunities. This, to me, looks like they're trying to revert back to what their plan was in January - to put the title on Bray Wyatt, again, and wait for Roman Reigns to be ready."

We hope this isn't true because Strowman deserves a longer reign as Universal Champion. With that said, the idea of Wyatt losing clean isn't a great one either.