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Welcome to this week's edition of wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't! This is the first edition on the road to WrestleMania and we're excited as ever. It was just around a week ago that the Royal Rumble took place and fans are still buzzing over what they witnessed at the PPV.
We're talking about the two big events in the Men's Royal Rumble Match - the first of which saw the legendary former WWE World Champion Edge make his in-ring return after nearly 9 years post-retirement and the second of which saw Drew McIntyre have the greatest moment of his career as he won the Royal Rumble match.
WWE has a lot of momentum going on their side. We felt that RAW was a solid show while SmackDown wasn't anything particularly special. AEW and NXT delivered as always and as we enter the most exciting period in the year, let's jump right into the rumors we hope are true and the ones we hope aren't!
Before we head to the listicle, gear up by listening to what Paige has to say regarding the current state of WWE's female division!
#6. Hope is true: Change in plans for the WrestleMania main event
The originally planned winners of the Women's and Men's Royal Rumble match were Shayna Baszler and Roman Reigns respectively, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. They also stated that the plan was for Roman Reigns vs 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt to headline WrestleMania 36 in a Universal title bout on the SmackDown side.
However, WON stated that the decision is now to go 'all-out' with Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar as the main event of WrestleMania 36. While the company thought that having McIntyre eliminate Lesnar would be "enough" for him to get the same spot without winning, he later realized the importance of a fresh match-up between McIntyre and Lesnar.
We hope this is true because it's a sensible decision that will turn out to be the right one.
#6. Hope isn't true: Triple H isn't going to be Vince McMahon's successor in WWE
According to Tom Colohue, Triple H isn't going to be the man to take over Vince McMahon's throne when he inevitably retires. Many assumed that NXT was "training" for Triple H to take over that spot and were thrilled to see the success he had with the yellow brand - from a different creative direction, a quality show, securing a TV network deal, signing the biggest independent wrestling names and more.
However, it's not Triple H, but Shane McMahon who will take over the throne from Vince McMahon. He reportedly had a big backstage role in the 2020 Royal Rumble.
It’s worth mentioning though that, to my knowledge, Triple H is not the next in line to take over WWE after Vince McMahon. The next in line is Shane McMahon. I know people want Triple H but Shane McMahon is the next in line and that’s one of the reasons he’s been doing production work, for example at the Royal Rumble.
Given that XFL is about to take off and Paul Heyman handles the creative side of RAW (with more power than many expected), it seems like Vince McMahon will inevitably step back. When that happens, Colohue says that The Prodigal Son will step up.
He’s been involved in everything since day one, essentially from his birth into this company. He’s set up the ring, he’s done ref work, he’s been involved in storylines. Shane McMahon knows wrestling, he knows how to be successful. He is going to take a lot more of the control, now that Vince is stepping back.
We hope this isn't true. While we love the idea of Shane McMahon having an important backstage role, we feel that Triple H might just be better suited after having many years of operating on the top level.
#5. Hope is true: Update on possible backstage heat for Matt Riddle
As you've probably heard by now, Matt Riddle may have gotten into a confrontation with WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. He's spoken of him many times and his desire to retire him. However, Brock Lesnar was less than pleased with him and the words he allegedly told Riddle backstage were: “Kid, you might as well stop saying my name and tagging me in s**t because you and I will never work together. Ever."
There was a lot of speculation that he may have had backstage heat. However, he would go on to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Pete Dunne just a few days later. So much for a "punishment". Either way, Sportskeeda's own Tom Colohue said that there's no heat for Riddle backstage:
"The idea that Matt Riddle is being punished... he isn't. He just plain isn't. If Matt Riddle was going to be punished, he would have been removed from the Royal Rumble match."
We hope this is true because Matt Riddle is a great talent who is capable of great things when given the opportunity.
#5. Hope isn't true: WWE turned down big spot for Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble
Concluding the Brock Lesnar-Matt Riddle saga, Tom Colohue also reported that Triple H pitched a spot where Matt Riddle and Brock Lesnar would confront each other at the Royal Rumble. However, it was allegedly turned down. He said:
I do know Triple H put Matt Riddle name's forward as someone who should be in the Royal Rumble and he put his name forward with the intent, hope I should say, of having some kind of an encounter with Brock Lesnar. The WWE said yeah, we will have Matt Riddle, and then at some point, they said 'okay, we're not going to have him with Brock Lesnar'. It may be down to that backstage altercation.
While admitting that last-minute changes are rare and unlikely in the Royal Rumble, Riddle's short-lived appearance in the match made it hard to tell:
If you look at the list and as you recall I have it right here, there are a number of people there who could have been moved last-minute in place of Matt Riddle. And he was only in the match for 41 seconds. It's very hard to tell.
We hope this isn't true. However, in all likeliness, a spot like this would have been turned down.
#4. Hope is true: Another name who was a front-runner for Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36
Drew McIntyre was the perfect choice to win the Royal Rumble and at this point in 2020, he's the right choice as Brock Lesnar's next opponent. After all, we all realized before the Royal Rumble that Brock Lesnar doesn't have too many fresh challengers left for him.
Moreover, a lot of superstars who can be legitimate opponents are still a while away from reaching that stage. That's why the timing to pull the trigger on McIntyre couldn't be more perfect.
According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Aleister Black was also a frontrunner to be a potential Brock Lesnar opponent at WrestleMania.
"I know that Aleister Black was in the running for the Lesnar match. The decision was made to go with McIntyre and it's probably the right decision considering, I think it's early for Aleister Black but he was absolutely in the running for that decision. And you can tell from watching the TV."
We echo the sentiment that it would be too early for him. However, we hope this is true because it's a good sign for Black's future in WWE.
#4. Hope isn't true: The chaos before, following, and after 2 major WWE firings this past week
This is a very long one to explain but we'll mention two major aspects that we hope aren't true. WWE Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson were let go of with immediate effect after a major falling out over Vince McMahon.
Tom Colohue reported that they were let go without any prior notice:
It was very clear from the initial statement that this was a shock move or at least a very short-term choice. It wasn’t something that was particularly debated or even something Barrios or Wilson was aware of in the forefront and the time beforehand so that they could prepare for it.
The second exclusive report from Colohue stated that it was building up over time, with Vince McMahon, Barrios and Wilson having many "negative" encounters. Moreover, the decision to let them go was due to a "lack of big picture thinking" on their end:
I have heard from a few different people inside the head office that there have been a number of altercations and encounters that have been negative. They wouldn’t go into too much detail, but negative encounters is a phrase that they use between Barrios, Wilson and Vince McMahon.
The impact of this meant that the value of the company has fallen by essentially a billion dollars overnight. We hope all of this isn't true but the financial impact of it makes us believe that it is true.
#3. Hope is true: Backstage reason why Drew McIntyre was chosen to win the Royal Rumble match
We often give WWE and Vince McMahon, in particular, a lot of flak for "not listening to the fans". The peak of this was undoubtedly in the era where Roman Reigns was being over pushed as WWE's most unpopular babyface ever.
However, we must admit that there has been an incredible turnaround in the direction of the product in 2019. There were a lot of subtle yet significant changes that were made and this involved pushing many new superstars.
We're seeing the likes of Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Buddy Murphy, Aleister Black, etc. all benefit directly from that. Drew McIntyre's push is the biggest one right now and according to Tom Colohue, it was a "fan-driven" change. He tweeted, saying:
We hope this is true because it's a big indicator that WWE is listening to the fans. They've done a better job than people would like to give them credit for this past year and we feel that if they continue to listen like this, an exciting era for the product is coming.
#3. Hope isn't true: AJ Styles' next big PPV match canceled
AJ Styles reportedly has a shoulder injury that has kept him sidelined. While it's not clear as to whether it happened exactly in the Royal Rumble spot against Edge or whether the spot worsened an injury he was working through, his feud with Randy Orton may be canceled abruptly
According to Tom Colohue, AJ Styles was supposed to face Randy Orton either at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia or Elimination Chamber.
It could have been that we had this exact spot (RAW angle) and then Edge took the time off to sell the injuries, in which case they’d finish the feud between Orton and Styles but that would not have left us with the opportunity to have sort of the conclusive match, whereas it was probably supposed to be at the Elimination Chamber or Saudi Arabia show, that was when it was supposed to be.
We hope this isn't true because it's a shame that a top feud has to be abruptly concluded due to an injury. Moreover, both men being heels now ruins the dynamic.
#2. Hope is true: AJ Styles' WrestleMania status
While there have been some suggestions that AJ Styles could miss WrestleMania 36, that may not be the case. It's hard to imagine WrestleMania without AJ Styles now. He's already racked up a nice list of opponents - facing Chris Jericho (WM 32), Shane McMahon (WM 33), Shinsuke Nakamura (WM 34), and Randy Orton (WM 35). His record in four appearances is 1-3, which is quite impressive.
Usually, by this time, it becomes clear who his opponent is at the show of shows due to him being a consistently-featured top star for the company. However, his injury likely means that he will be skipping the entire February in WWE programming.
The good news is that the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that his shoulder injury isn't too serious and that it'll keep him out for 4-6 weeks. This makes it the perfect time for him to return to WWE for WrestleMania. While there won't be much of a build, WWE can simply have Styles appear and not wrestle until the show of shows as a precautionary measure.
#2. Hope isn't true: Ronda Rousey's WrestleMania status
As expected, the road to WrestleMania is going to be filled with rumors about the grandest stage of them all. Since the Royal Rumble 2020 is over and we saw all the big returns, the question is as to who will return this time around.
A big name that many had hoped to see at Survivor Series 2019 and then Royal Rumble 2020 is Ronda Rousey. We last saw Rousey on WWE TV last WrestleMania when she main evented the show. Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter said that the word as of now is that Rousey won't be appearing at WrestleMania:
"Still, if Lynch vs. Baszler is the key women’s match on the show, then it would have made sense for Baszler to win the Rumble, particularly since a large percentage of the viewership doesn’t watch NXT and isn’t familiar with her, yet she’s in the top women’s match on the show unless Rousey is coming back, which according to what we are told, Rousey will not be wrestling this year at Mania."
We hope this isn't true because Rousey is a valuable superstar to WWE and proved exactly what she's worth in her historic 2018-19 run.
#1. Hope is true: Edge's incredible WWE deal
Edge returning to WWE has led to many old and new eyes on the product. While us, the dedicated fanbase would have been on the loop about his rumored return, many casual fans were clueless, which would have made it extra special for them to see the legend return to action.
He would be eliminated second last in the match by Roman Reigns. One night later, he returned to RAW and seemingly confirmed that he's back in the fray. Before the Royal Rumble 2020, PWInsider briefly mentioned that Edge had signed a good contract with a big upside to it.
Sportskeeda and Talk Sport's Alex McCarthy seemingly confirmed this, reporting that Edge had signed a 3-year contract of 9 million dollars - meaning that he'll earn 3 million dollars a year for his part-time appearances.
We hope this is true because he deserves that kind of a deal. He won't be performing full-time but even if he wrestles solely on Big 4 PPVs, we're fine with that. Nobody expected him back in such a capacity, to begin with.
#1. Hope isn't true: The Revival reject major WWE contracts, have requested their release
The Revival are seemingly done in WWE. There have been so many reports since they joined RAW in 2017 that they asked for their releases and they teased it many times as well in favor of jumping ship.
This time, it might be for good as Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net reported that The Revival have asked for their release and turned down a huge deal.
"I can confirm Alvarez’s report that The Revival did ask for their releases from the company. I can also report that The Revival were offered another huge deal, which was said to be higher than the $700k per year that The Club were given, which The Revival again turned down. I was told that the two are “just ready to go.”
We all know how much Cody Rhodes and The Elite have teased a face-off against The Revival and expressed interest in a match against them. They would slot right into AEW but we hope this report isn't true as The Revival are a great long-term tag team for WWE. Without them, the division will weaken significantly.
