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Welcome to this week's edition of "Wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't". We're a few days late with the series this time around, primarily due to the two-day WrestleMania 36 event. We didn't want to take away from the Show of Shows and decided to bring the edition a bit late this time.
Either way, WrestleMania 36 is now in the books and WWE will be marching forward - or at least try to in the prevailing circumstances. Let's jump right into the past week's rumors!
#5. Hope is true: Vince McMahon gives special permission to Paul Heyman
What was interesting about the RAW side of things this past WrestleMania was the realistic aspect of the storylines and promos. The promos on RAW have been praised during the Performance Center shows and it's no coincidence, as the executive director of RAW Paul Heyman has supposedly been given special permission.
Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio revealed that Heyman gets some rein from Vince McMahon and control on promos that Bruce Pritchard won't on SmackDown:
That's one of the reasons why I think that one of these aspects of these promos being different and good is that mentality which nobody else would do there. I'm pretty darn sure you're not going to see that on SmackDown on Friday and I don't think Vince would ever do it on his own but you know he is giving Paul, I'm not saying free rein because gets free rein but he's given Paul some rein and these promos are showing that.
We hope this is true because Heyman has done a great job with RAW so far and has shown a lot of progress and change since arriving. We expect that to continue.
#5. Hope isn't true: The Undertaker's backstage thoughts on retirement
Kurt Angle revealed The Undertaker's thoughts on his disastrous match against Goldberg at Super ShowDown 2020. According to the Hall of Famer, The Undertaker knew how bad it was and wanted to redeem himself, which is when Angle suggested that he wrestles AJ Styles.
Tom Colohue suggested that WrestleMania 36 may have been The Undertaker's last stand - or at least the start of his final run.
Well, there is a lot of talk that he wanted to retire on a good note because he's had these bad matches and if that's the case, this would be the way to retire.
We hope this isn't true because there's still a lot more to see from him in his new run. As Colohue reported, The Undertaker turned out to be in fantastic physical shape and seems fresher than ever with the mix of gimmicks. Either way, we expect him to continue a while longer, but The Deadman gimmick is truly done for.
#4. Hope is true: No heat for Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns pulling out of WrestleMania shortly before the tapings caused a bit of a creative scramble. Despite this, the consensus seems to be that Reigns made the right move and from the look of things, that seems to be what the backstage reaction was as well.
Moreover, WWE reportedly gave the option to all Superstars as to whether they wanted to perform at WrestleMania 36 or not. Tom Colohue told Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions that there's no heat on Roman Reigns for pulling out at the last minute:
There is no heat on Roman whatsoever, or at least there is no heat on Roman that is public, I don't mean to say that no one's come and said it publicly but in the background, there may be, but in many ways, you may encounter unconscious prejudice. So there may be in the future at some point, someone will think to themselves, 'Oh, we can't use roman because he is unreliable.' At the moment, everyone is in Roman's corner, they truly believe in him and think this is the right move for him.
We hope this is true because it would be a bad look for the company otherwise. Either way, it would be harsh to doubt them now since they've been very good to Roman Reigns about his health and time away from the ring.
#4. Hope isn't true: Possibly unfortunate update on Roman Reigns' return
Roman Reigns wisely pulled out of his WrestleMania 36 main event match against Goldberg after reportedly falling ill during the Performance Center tapings. Since his leukemia is a severe preexisting health condition, he belongs to the category of the most vulnerable people should he contract coronavirus.
WWE respected his request and replaced him with Braun Strowman instead, with The Monster Among Men beating Goldberg to win his first Universal Championship.
Tom Colohue revealed on Dropkick DiSKussions that WWE has no certainty about when Roman Reigns is going to return:
This is essentially going to be a complete rewrite of everything they had planned for Roman Reigns. The main reason being they don't know when he is going to be back. With everything happening and with the coronavirus looking like it's going to last for months, if not years, they cannot say with confidence, 'Okay, we'll write a storyline for August, because we don't know if he's going to be back. We'll write a storyline for November.
He said that all their plans have gone down the drain and have forced them to start from scratch.
They don't know when he is going to be back. Everything they had written beforehand is on the scrap heap now. They have to start from scratch, make something entirely new, that new storyline may lead to him to be the champion within three months over from whoever becomes champion next
We hope this isn't true, but given the circumstances, it's a realistic assessment. We hope that Reigns can stay safe until the pandemic is over and return better than ever.
#3. Hope is true: The Undertaker finally allowed to be himself
The Undertaker truly redeemed himself at WrestleMania 36 when he faced AJ Styles in the main event of night one. It was shot in a unique cinematic style, something that hadn't been done before for WrestleMania and the fans took to it instantly.
The Undertaker's matches and rivalries haven't been that exciting for a good part of six years, which is why fans were thrilled to watch him have his best match since WrestleMania 23.
The Boneyard match saw him appear as an amalgamation of various gimmicks, from The American Badass to The Phenom and even The Ministry of Darkness. Ultimately, he came off looking like the best he had in years, proving that a gimmick change was needed a long time ago.
According to Tom Colohue, this is simply WWE letting Mark Calaway be himself:
We're not seeing the classic American Badass. What we are seeing here is the man himself, Mark Calaway. This is who he is. Big fan of boxing, big fan of MMA, and this is what he wears in his everyday life. WWE is finally giving him the opportunity to just be himself.
We hope this is true because it's the best thing that's happened to him in a long time. Nobody would have imagined being excited about The Undertaker in 2020, but that's simply how unpredictable yet incredible wrestling can be.
#3. Hope isn't true: AEW tapings almost shut down
AEW is in a tough situation as is everyone else. However, unlike WWE, they don't seem to be in a position where they have millions upon millions in reserve for a rainy day. We can't be sure as to how the end of ticket sales is affecting them, but given that they have a vital TV deal with TNT, they decided that the show must go on.
An exclusive report from WrestlingInc revealed that AEW was holding their tapings in QT Marshall's Gym in Norcross, Georgia and the state authorities tried to shut the show. The report stated that AEW had all the required paperwork to do the shoot, but the authorities stayed on until the end to make sure that all the protocols were followed.
We hope this isn't true as AEW has been doing a great job regardless of the lack of audience and they should be able to tape as much as possible until they can regroup and proceed with their tapings safely.
#2. Hope is true: Update on anyone in WWE possibly testing positive for Coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic has been a major concern globally and it forced WWE to move the biggest show of the year WrestleMania from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed that nobody had tested positive for coronavirus in WWE. As you probably know, the situation forced many Superstars to be pulled from WrestleMania, including the likes of The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Dana Brooke, and most significantly, Roman Reigns.
WWE has been very careful with their precautionary measures and it seems as though multiple Superstars are now in quarantine. Luckily, nobody has tested positive and we don't need to explain why we hope this is true.
WWE has been taking the social distancing protocol, except for the one hiccup at WrestleMania where Rob Gronkowski dived onto a group of people before winning the 24/7 Championship.
The two battle royals at WrestleMania were also canceled due to the social distancing protocol.
#2. Hope isn't true: WWE Superstars concerned about being released
Many people all over the world are getting laid off from their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic and companies losing a lot of money. According to Paul Davis of Wrestling News, there's a lot of concern backstage among the non-main event talent in WWE that they could lose their jobs.
“The feeling is that most of the mid-card wrestlers and the top stars will be fine but some of the wrestlers not used much on shows are worried. Eventually, travel restrictions will be lifted and WWE will be able to run shows in front of fans again but there is a realization that some fans may not be so quick to attend sports/entertainment events and WWE seems to be aware of that.”
While AEW was always a safety net for many Superstars before the pandemic, they're aware that it's not a safety net anymore.
One wrestler in WWE told me, 'I think guys know they can’t depend on AEW as their safety net because they are going through their issues with canceled shows. This will be tough for a lot of guys and for a lot of people in [the wrestling business] overall.'”
We hope this isn't true, but it's only realistic at this time to be concerned about job safety. We feel for independent wrestlers who are out of work in this tough time.
#1. Hope is true: WWE in the works to re-sign a megastar?
One of the big names that we haven't seen in a while is 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey, who had an undeniable impact on the WWE's Women's division in her year-long tenure. She was responsible for WWE introducing the first all women's PPV and also for women headlining WrestleMania for the first time in history.
Tom Colohue revealed that Ronda Rousey is in talks for contract negotiation and could return sooner than we expect.
This also could have some bearing on some roster changes. We look at Ronda Rousey, who is a possibility to return soon. She is potentially approaching what would have been the end of the three-year contract that WWE initially announced that she had but I can also say with confidence that contract negotiations are ongoing for a brand new contract that would essentially start around the time of this year's WrestleMania.
We hope this is true because Rousey has a big impact on the WWE roster and is still a megastar who can be a big draw. WWE will always value having her on the roster.
#1. Hope isn't true: The Undertaker promo rubbed talent the wrong way
The Undertaker's promo on the RAW before WrestleMania 36 was fantastic in its delivery, but there was a certain part of it that raised some eyebrows.
Dave Meltzer tweeted that a certain part of his promo rubbed people backstage the wrong way.
Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote about the line in question:
The line in question was about Undertaker claiming that AJ Styles chose not to come to WWE when The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Mick Foley, Edge, and various other veterans were are the top of their game. The Undertaker said that Styles knew he couldn't hang with the aforementioned legends and waited until they were all gone.
The line implied that the talents of this era weren't on the same level as their predecessors. Meltzer also noted that Vince McMahon approved every word in the promo.
We hope this isn't true, but it's understandable since it sends the wrong message to the full-timers. It's no secret that WWE fans haven't been the biggest fans of part-time wrestlers getting big spots. But, having lines like that in his promo is certain to offend some people, regardless of his legendary status.
