6 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 6 we hope aren't: Edge 'reconciles' with a real-life rival, Vince McMahon 'gives up' on Heyman's star?

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 a lot has been happening while a lot is also set to happen in the coming weeks across different promotions.

The world of WWE is gearing up for WrestleMania as the road to the show of shows is well underway. The next major PPV comes to you on February 27th at WWE SuperShowDown, but before we get into all of that, let's jump right into the rumors of this week!

#6. Hope is true: Edge reconciles with a former rival

It's no secret that Edge and Matt Hardy had a tense past. We don't need to go into the details but it was an entire relationship mess involving Lita. The real-life tensions boiled over to a storyline on TV and things were understandably uncomfortable for all three involved.

With Edge and Matt Hardy both in the company again, many wondered what Hardy's reaction to Edge's big return was. Turns out he's more than happy about it and the two have reconciled, according to Tom Colohue:

He and Edge have really reconciled. Matt Hardy was incredibly happy to see Edge back in the ring. I've met the man, I doubt he remembers it as it was quite a long time ago and he bears Edge no ill will. All of that has happened a very long-time ago for most of it. He was always very keen for Edge, if he did return to be able to go out on his own terms, which is something he referenced as well in the promo and he wants to be able to work on his own terms as well.

We hope this is true because it's good to see real-life rivalries end. Then again, it has been many years already.

#6. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon already gives up on a RAW star?

Dave Meltzer, on the Wrestling Observer Radio, revealed why Cedric Alexander has been virtually absent on RAW these past few months or has only been utilized as an enhancement talent:

They’ve got no plans for Alexander. He’s a talented guy, but his number is just not being called.

Paul Davies of WrestlingNews.co further affirmed this, stating that Vince McMahon has "completely given up"

There is no backstage heat between Alexander and McMahon, and it's just that the WWE Boss doesn't see him as a top star.

Paul Heyman had Alexander on his list of superstars to push but this is something that Vince McMahon reportedly won't listen to.

Heyman reportedly attempted to push Cedric higher up the card but McMahon decided to bury him. Alexander was involved in a top angle featuring Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon in July last year, but he quickly lost momentum after the WWE dropped the ball on him.

We hope this isn't true because Alexander is a promising superstar with a lot of potential. Hopefully, his time comes and he makes the most of an opportunity given to him.

#5. Hope is true: Goldberg more than willing to put Bray Wyatt over

Tom Colohue revealed that the disastrous Undertaker-Goldberg match at Super ShowDown last year led Goldberg to negotiate the kind of match he wants. He also told Korey Gunz on the latest Dropkick DiSKussions podcast that Goldberg is very happy about putting over Bray Wyatt at Super ShowDown:

He is definitely going on his back and he seems very happy about that. We know that Goldberg matches don’t last very long, so I think it would go exactly how you have described it. I don’t think it would be two mins, I think it would be more like 5 or maybe 6. Bray Wyatt may take, maybe a couple more spears, and just keep getting up because that seems to be the mo, Goldberg will probably take a little more beating than one Sister Abigail.

We hope this is true because it would be a massive boost for Wyatt as the Universal Champion and the SmackDown brand in general.

#5. Hope isn't true: WWE forced to spoil Samoa Joe's return from injury

Samoa Joe had reportedly suffered a concussion that was supposed to keep him out for a while, but he returned to TV this past week - way quicker than people had anticipated.

Tom Colohue revealed that the rumors had spread about Joe's concussion and WWE and Joe prematurely decided to return ahead of schedule and announce it to clear up the rumors:

And unfortunately to my knowledge, Samoa Joe was also aware of that rumor and wanted to get back in action. Someone like Samoa Joe, who just loves to be in the action, would then put them in a situation whereby Joe is trying to force himself back ahead of schedule to prove people wrong. From my knowledge, it was supposed to be a surprise that this week he returned, but they did have to announce it ahead of time to sort of clear up the rumor and say, ‘hey, it’s not a thing, stop spreading rumors.’

We hope this isn't true because Joe wasn't needed back so early. Moreover, it puts him at risk again.

#4. Hope is true: Becky Lynch's fate at WrestleMania 36

The Man has reigned supreme for nearly a year

Becky Lynch's WrestleMania 36 opponent appears to be the 2-time NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler. After The Queen of Spades viciously attacked her on RAW, not only is she getting the biggest push in the RAW Women's division, but she could even end Becky Lynch's year-long title reign, according to Tom Colohue:

It’s definitely possible and I personally think it’s likely that Shayna Baszler will come out of WrestleMania as the RAW Women’s Champion.

He mentioned how Triple H said in a conference call that Shayna Baszler is still technically an NXT talent - similar to how Rhea Ripley appears on RAW and NXT. However, the only way to cement Baszler as a RAW superstar is to have her become RAW Women's Champion:

There’s no one else left for Becky, at this point, by WrestleMania, we are talking about a year-long title reign. There are sub-sections of the fanbase who are starting to turn and starting to think that she’s over pushed. One way to sort of re-achieve parity is to have her lose at WrestleMania.

We hope this is true because it's the right stage to end a historic title reign. Becky Lynch will remain the top babyface of RAW but she can instantly create a big star in Shayna Baszler by putting her over at the grandest stage of them all.

#4. Hope isn't true: A possible change in the Elimination Chamber line-up?

The main event of Elimination Chamber 2020 will see six top SmackDown stars go at it to determine Bray Wyatt's Universal title opponent at WrestleMania 36. The venue Wells Fargo Center put out an advertisement revealing Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura, King Corbin, and Robert Roode as the men that will lock horns for a ticket to WrestleMania.

Dave Meltzer told Bryan Alvarez Wrestling Observer Radio that the lineup was announced to sell tickets and that it's not set in stone:

It was a lineup sent to sell tickets but they hadn't decided on, I mean, they are going to have an Elimination Chamber, the winner, who is likely to be Roman Reigns, will face Bray Wyatt for the Championship at WrestleMania but who the six people are, they just threw six people there. It's like it maybe those six, there may be other guys other than Roman Reigns is an obvious choice.

He added that Robert Roode could very well be removed as well:

Don't take those six guys as locked in stone or anything like that because it was not locked in stone when they sent that lineup.

We hope this isn't true because the lineup is great in itself, though we wish all six competitors weren't announced. This is probably the best line-up they can go for the Chamber main event.

#3. Hope is true: Sasha Banks' WrestleMania status

There has been a bit of concern about the SmackDown Women's Championship picture when questions came up about Sasha Banks getting cleared from an injury. Some speculated that Naomi has taken her spot but Tom Colohue revealed that it's not the case and Naomi has been rushed into the mix as we saw this past week on SmackDown.

Naomi faces Carmella next week to determine Bayley's Super ShowDown contender and Colohue speculated that this likely means that Sasha Banks has been cleared:

From this, my theory I should say, is that Sasha Banks has now been cleared. She was supposed to be cleared in time for the Royal Rumble and that, unfortunately, did not happen.

He added that WWE wants to get the Naomi feud out of the way, which is likely why they'll have a match at SuperShowDown and maybe even Elimination Chamber.

However, I do believe she has been cleared now, which means that we may still get Bayley vs. Sasha Banks at WrestleMania, which means that Naomi is no longer in reserve for the Show of Shows, and could wrestle at Elimination Chamber or Super ShowDown and get that feud out of the way.

We hope this is true because Sasha Banks has to be Bayley's opponent and is the only legitimate challenger at the big stage now.

#3. Hope isn't true: WWE only wanted Jeff Hardy when The Hardy Boyz returned in 2017

While there has been a lot of speculation that Matt Hardy leaving WWE soon, Jeff Hardy has reportedly been training for a return. Either way, the dynamic has remained the same - with WWE bringing back the Hardy Boyz, Jeff Hardy getting a push and then going back to Matt Hardy.

Tom Colohue said that when WWE brought the Hardy Boyz back in 2017, the intention was to push Jeff Hardy because that's who they mainly wanted:

When they brought him and Matt back, the idea for the tag team was that they didn’t want to just bring Jeff back but Jeff was the one they really wanted. They really didn’t want to bother with the Broken Universe, even though they were eventually into it, they really didn’t fancy that. They wanted Jeff Hardy and they brought Matt Hardy to be sort of a chaperone, the idea being that with Matt there, Jeff’s more wild impulses will be a bit more tempered. That has not proven to be the case. It will be interesting now because to my knowledge, Jeff Hardy will happily return, and once he is fit and ready to go, we will see him again and there would be storylines and there would be death-defying stunts.

We hope this isn't true because Matt Hardy has proven numerous times that he's far more capable and consistent on the character side of things.

#2. Hope is true: The Undertaker's WrestleMania 36 opponent

AJ Styles is currently on the sideline dealing with an injury but he's expected to be back at the grandest stage of them all. His record at WrestleMania is currently 3-1, with his only defeat coming to Chris Jericho and his victories coming over Shane McMahon, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Randy Orton.

Styles is a superstar whos' virtually guaranteed a marquee match on the show of shows and this year, he could have his biggest match yet as he's rumored to face none other than The Undertaker, according to Wrestlezone:

“This could be a phenom-enal addition to the WrestleMania card in Tampa. According to a source speaking with Wrestlezone, AJ Styles versus The Undertaker is currently being planned for WrestleMania 36 in Tampa.”

This would be a massive addition to the card and would mark The Undertaker's return to WrestleMania after two years. His last outing at WrestleMania was in 2018 when he squashed John Cena in 165 seconds.

We hope this is true because it's a great match for a great stage.

#2. Hope isn't true: A possible title change before WrestleMania 36?

Andrade with his first title on the WWE "main roster"

Andrade's reign as United States Champion could be over soon. Though he didn't drop the title before his 30-day suspension for violating the Wellness Policy,

Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso reported that there's a chance of Andrade dropping the United States Championship before WrestleMania 36:

“From everything I have been told by contacts within WWE, the recently suspended Andrade’s days as the United States champion are numbered. (His 30-day wellness policy suspension expires on Feb. 27.) A hair-vs.-mask match against Rey Mysterio would have been special, but the more pressing question is whether he will even make it to WrestleMania as the United States champion.”

We hope this isn't true because it would be an underwhelming way for his Championship reign to end. He should walk in and out of WrestleMania 36 as the United States Championship and drop it after a while - but only when WWE is ready to push him to the next level afterward.

#1. Hope is true: Ronda Rousey's negotiations with WWE over a return

It's been close to a year since Ronda Rousey was last on WWE television. During her year-long tenure, she didn't work a "part-time" schedule as many would have thought and was fully involved in programming the whole way through - featured as the centerpiece of the RAW Women's division.

Tom Colohue revealed that Rousey has been in talks with WWE over her contract as she wants a reduced work schedule:

Ronda Rousey has been speaking about her contract recently, now she completed her full 12 months, and what she was saying is that she was unhappy with the amount of work involved in that. There were a lot of days, she worked 200 so events, 200 days, and she did mention that a lot of the other talent were working a lot more, however, with the amount she was doing and the amount of time she wants to spend with her family at home.

He said that negotiations have been going on for a long time now.

She is looking for fewer dates, so that's part of the contract negotiations going forward for her return. Negotiations have been ongoing since pretty much the day she left.

He also said that due to her drawing power, she has a lot more leverage with negotiations. We hope this rumor is true and that she returns with a deserved schedule of her choosing.

#1. Hope isn't true: John Cena's potential opponent

John Cena's appearances have decreased by the year. Last year alone, he only appeared to briefly put over Finn Balor, have a segment with Elias at WrestleMania 35 and a brief appearance on RAW with The Usos.

He's returning on February 28th, which has ramped up speculation over a potential WrestleMania 36 match. Dave Meltzer told Bryan Alvarez on the Wrestling Observer Radio that Cena's opponent is set to be none other than the man who he had a segment with two WrestleMania's in a row - Elias.

We know, it's underwhelming and Both Meltzer and Alvarez seemed to share that sentiment as well. It's a match-up that makes little sense and Meltzer said that the mentality backstage is that Elias will get a "rub" from losing to John Cena.

When mentioning that Elias is a babyface, Alvarez said that all it'll take is one promo to turn him heel.

We hope this isn't true because it's an underwhelming match and a waste of a rare John Cena match - let alone the fact that it's at the biggest stage.