6 wrestling rumors we hope are true & 6 we hope aren't: Triple H 'obsessed' with surprising Superstar, WWE planning massive dream match for Brock Lesnar?

Welcome to this week's edition of wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't! It's been an exciting week in the world of wrestling and as always, NXT and AEW delivered in a big way.

While RAW wasn't at its best, the show has had enough overall consistency to give fans a reason to tune in. SmackDown has been problematic on the creative side, which is a bit surprising since the roster is stacked and the WrestleMania direction involves quite a few good matches on the card.

Either way, this week isn't just about WrestleMania. There have been a lot of eventful things happening in the world of wrestling, from potential suspensions to injuries, backstage rumblings and so much more.

#6. Hope is true: Triple H 'obsessed' with a 26-year old star

One of Triple H's main jobs is to have an eye out for top talent, even if he isn't directly involved in the scouting process, he's hands-on with everything NXT and that involves working with all kinds of talent.

There's a specific superstar who Triple H not only has his eye on, but he's reportedly "obsessed" with him as well. That name is none other than the 26-year old Ilja Dragunov in NXT: UK, according to TalkSport's Alex McCarthy.

NXT: UK has been an early stage for quite a few solid prospects, with Rhea Ripley being the most recent example of a superstar finding massive success after coming through the ranks in NXT: UK.

We hope this rumor is true because WWE has a great Russian-born superstar with a lot of potential. Hopefully, he doesn't fall victim to bad creative ideas and is eased into NXT and then RAW or SmackDown.

WWE has a special talent with Dragunov.

#6. Hope isn't true: Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon have heat with a top star

Brock Lesnar has a lot of backstage pull

Brock Lesnar was in the headlines once again after the Royal Rumble for an alleged confrontation he had with NXT star Matt Riddle. He reportedly told Riddle to stop tagging him and using his name as they're never going to work together.

Understandably, that had a bit of an impact backstage. It may not go well for Riddle since he has upset Vince McMahon as well, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

Regarding social media, the issues with Vince McMahon and Matt Riddle are due to his social media posts and challenges. Brock Lesnar doesn’t like him for it and Lesnar has tremendous pull with Vince. Vince also sees him as an outside guy and feels Riddle has no respect for the hierarchy of the business by challenging Goldberg and Lesnar.

We hope that this isn't true. Riddle is a main event-level talent with big future potential. Hopefully, his "rebellious" nature ends up propelling him to the top of the card and not the bottom of it.

#5. Hope is true: A dream match for Bobby Lashley is still on the cards

Bobby Lashley has been very vocal about the fact that he returned to WWE to get a match against Brock Lesnar. It's been almost two full years now and that still hasn't happened.

Despite this, Tom Colohue believes that Bobby Lashley vs Brock Lesnar will eventually happen before his contract runs out:

Bobby Lashley has been very public. He said to Gary Cassidy that he wants that match with Brock Lesnar and I’m sure it will happen but we are not there yet. There is no doubt in my mind that Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley is going to happen before this contract runs out. I’ve spoken before that when a new contract is signed, there is a discussion.

He stated that Lashley wouldn't have signed the contract had he not been assured the Brock Lesnar match. However, Drew McIntyre is the priority now.

Not just how much money a wrestler is going to get, also about how they are going to be pushed. I don’t think he would have signed that contract if he wasn’t assured about the Brock Lesnar match. However, this incarnation of Bobby Lashley is wrong for the part, the priority right now is getting Drew McIntyre over.

Colohue went on to justify that once Lashley is away from Lana and no titles are involved, he can be built up as a bigger star again and that once they do inevitably meet - the moment will be a big one.

We hope this is true because it's a match that simply needs to happen.

#5. Hope isn't true: WWE has nothing for Rusev

Rusev has noticeably been absent from WWE television ever since the road to WrestleMania started. It was a bit surprising since Liv Morgan and Lana had two matches in two weeks and neither Rusev nor Lashley was present.

The two were advertised for the Royal Rumble match and didn't even end up appearing, which seemed to be a big error on WWE's part for announcing 27 competitors beforehand, to begin with.

Either way, Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio said that the reason why Rusev hasn't been on TV is that there's nothing planned for him creatively:

Bryan Alvarez: Where the hell has Rusev been?

Meltzer: They don’t have anything for him right now.

Alvarez: So you’re telling he did that whole storyline and divorcing his wife and this whole deal and now they got nothing for the guy?

We hope this isn't true because it confirms that the entire love triangle storyline was utterly pointless. Not that it wasn't anyway, but Rusev somehow got over despite the circumstances. This is another major blow to him.

#4. Hope is true: Angel Garza filling in for Andrade

As mentioned, Andrade is currently serving a one-month suspension for violating WWE's Wellness Policy. Until he's back, he'll remain Champion but he's going to be temporarily replaced by his fellow Mexican Angel Garza.

Last week, Garza came out with Zelina Vega and competed against Humberto Carrillo and Rey Mysterio on the same night. According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Garza is filling in for Andrade while he's suspended:

He's got such a great look and he can go. I mean he's really good. So this guy, now the deal here is, okay, he is an NXT guy who has been on NXT TV. So the rules, and rules are meant to be broken, so the rules are that you can't bring up an NXT guy unless it has been planned way in advance and this hasn't. So what it is, is right now, he is here because Andrade failed a drug test and they needed something so, that's what he's here for.

Meltzer said that Garza will be pulling double-duty - competing on both RAW and NXT. It's going to be a big month for him:

I know he should stay, but, and he may, I mean, there's not like this rule that he's going to have to go back but right now the idea is that he's going to be on both shows and that he's still an NXT but he is a fill-in for 30 days.

#4. Hope isn't true: Tommaso Ciampa possibly suffers an injury

Tommaso Ciampa hasn't had the best luck with injuries over the last few years. The moment he had incredible momentum on his side, he would be forced to sit out for extended periods due to an injury.

On the latest episode of NXT, Ciampa may have suffered an injury, according to WrestlingInc:

Ciampa appeared to be suffering from some sort of knee or leg injury before the six-man main event, which saw Ciampa, Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne defeat The Undisputed Era (NXT Champion Adam Cole, NXT Tag Team Champions Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) by DQ. Ciampa was involved in a brawl angle with The Undisputed Era before the main event.

He was checked by a doctor at ringside:

A correspondent at last night's show noted that Ciampa was checked out by a WWE doctor at ringside. Dunne also kept checking on him while they were on the apron together. Another correspondent believed that Ciampa was injured before the main event action got going.

We hope this isn't true because it would be a huge blow to Ciampa and NXT - and his career may never be the same after his return.

#3. Hope is true: Shawn Michaels pushing for a Champion backstage

Shawn Michaels has been an influential figure in the past couple of years in NXT. While hesitant at first, he managed to work everything out with Triple H and has since taken an important backstage role for NXT.

Naturally, having a talent like Shawn Michaels in the mix is a huge boost to the talent and their learning process. It'll be interesting to see which superstars have caught the eye of Shawn Michaels, but we do know one such person - current NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin. Devlin has long been criticized for being a "Finn Balor knockoff", but he's more than justified his presence and individuality while in NXT: UK.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Shawn Michaels has been pushing big for Jordan Devlin to have an increased presence:

Shawn Michaels is big on Jordan Devlin, per the Observer, and the idea is for him to defend the cruiserweight title across all brands.

We hope this is true because having Michaels behind him will be a big boost for Devlin and his overall confidence.

#3. Hope isn't true: Rey Mysterio to sit out for a while

Rey Mysterio may have been written out of WWE programming this past week. He was originally supposed to join Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe in their fight against Seth Rollins and AoP, but he continued his feud with Andrade instead.

Last week, he was DDT'd onto the concrete floor by Angel Garza - which is usually a method of WWE's to write someone out. According to WON (via Cageside Seats),

"There’s some speculation going around, apparently starting from Dave Meltzer, that Rey Mysterio could be taking some time off after RAW this week."

While we're not against the idea of Rey Mysterio taking time off (and he, more than anyone, needs it), it's the timing that we're a bit skeptical about, which is why we hope it isn't true. With that said, it could just be a short hiatus, but it's important to have a legend like Mysterio present during the hottest season of the year in wrestling.

#2. Hope is true: Locker room behind Andrade - believe he's innocent

Andrade's one-month suspension for a Wellness Policy Violation has come into question. It's not known what it is that he consumed that got him the suspension, but former WWE Spanish announcer Hugo Savinovich posted a video on Facebook stating that the locker room is behind the Mexican:

The situation with Andrade bothers me a lot because I have been one of those people supporting him 100 percent – his reputation, his professionalism and his family lineage. Now, while studying this case, I’ve found out some things. Wrestlers in the company have much more information on this and how the drug testing works.

There's even a belief that he's innocent.

Wrestlers in WWE have commented about this situation in the locker room, a world where you’ll hear all sorts of things. Andrade, I dare say it publicly, I understand is innocent.

We hope this is true and that he's innocent. There isn't much known outside as to how their drug testing process works. He was possibly suspended for not giving a test.

#2. Hope isn't true: Update on The Revival's WWE contract status

The Revival being Shinsuke Nakamura's henchmen on SmackDown

The Revival appears to be exiting WWE and this time, there may not be anything that can be done. Fightful Select reported that Dash Wilder will have to stay for another additional two months or so. However, this will give them enough time to see out their no-compete close and be free for AEW's Double or Nothing:

"It's been noted elsewhere that The Revival's deals are "likely up April." This comes after word from Bodyslam.net that they passed up big offers to stay and asked for their releases. Scott Dawson's deal is up in April, but Dash Wilder had an additional period of time tacked on to his contract, so they don't actually expire at the same time. The request release would have had them out of the company and both free by AEW Double or Nothing with a 90 day no-compete."

We hope this isn't true because as we mentioned many times before, the WWE tag team division will be losing out big time - with arguably one of the five best tag teams in the world leaving for another promotion.

#1. Hope is true: WrestleMania plans for Drew McIntyre

When Drew McIntyre won the 2020 Royal Rumble Men's match, Corey Graves aptly said: "It's about damn time". We couldn't agree more, as things are falling into place incredibly for the Scotsman in 2020.

It was executed in the best possible way, with McIntyre remaining relevant in the latter part of 2019 while also remaining well-protected by WWE, with not many people taking notice of that. He began to pick up a winning streak similar to Sheamus before his big Royal Rumble win in 2012 and once the decade began, it was his for the taking.

Many have asked the question of whether Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar will main event WrestleMania 36, especially since Roman Reigns is expected to compete in the Universal Championship match.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Drew McIntyre is set to main event WrestleMania 36. That will be billed as the biggest match on the card and we hope this is true because it's the right match to close the show and coronate McIntyre.

#1. Hope isn't true: Six superstars suffered head injuries recently

This is terrible news and there's no need to justify why we hope this isn't true. It's no secret that WWE's schedule is a hectic one and there are periods where a group of superstars get injured around the same time or in a short span. Take late 2015, for instance, where WWE had lost many of its main stars (including Randy Orton and Seth Rollins) and rising ones as well, forced to scramble and change their WrestleMania 32 card.

Last week on RAW and World's Collide, six superstars suffered head injuries, according to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio.

Last week there were actually six people who were kind of like knocked out, which is a lot on two different shows. So, I guess, on the Worlds Collide show Marcel Barthel, Alexander Wolfe and Roderick Strong. And then on RAW, it was Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe and Riddick Moss.

Meltzer admitted that six injuries in two shows is a bit bizarre. He reported that there wasn't any news about possible concussions.