WWE News & Rumor Roundup: Possible WrestleMania plan for top stars, major name's injury scare, The Usos on Roman Reigns' absence (January 3, 2022) 

Welcome to another exciting WWE News and Rumor Roundup.

With WrestleMania 38 set to take place in a few months, we'll look at the company's potential plan for two top stars at the event. Today's roundup also features an update on Sasha Banks' recent injury scare.

The Usos have spoken about Roman Reigns' on-screen absence due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, reports regarding last-minute changes to the Day 1 show have surfaced. Becky Lynch suggested a possible dream match against a WWE legend not too long ago.

Without further ado, let's take a closer look at these news and rumor stories.

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#5. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns might still happen at WWE WrestleMania 38

Although Brock Lesnar is a free agent on television, his WWE Championship victory at the Day 1 event makes it seem like he will solely appear on RAW moving forward.

The Beast Incarnate was feuding with Universal Champion Roman Reigns on SmackDown before Day 1. However, the status of their storyline remains unclear ever since Reigns tested positive for COVID-19.

During the Bryan and Vinny Show, Bryan Alvarez highlighted some informed speculation about the future of The Tribal Chief's program with Lesnar. While not fully confirmed, backstage belief has suggested that the two top talents could have a champion vs. champion clash at WrestleMania 38.

“My presumption [and] I don’t have this 100 percent confirmed. What people have told me they believe is what’s going on here. Here’s the thing with WWE, everybody. When there’s a storyline involving Roman and Brock, the people that know where this is going are Roman, Brock and Vince and probably Paul Heyman and maybe Bruce Prichard. I can talk to 100 people there and 100 of them would tell me, ‘I think this is what’s happening but I don’t know for sure.’ But I think that the idea here is that they are doing champion vs. champion at WrestleMania. Roman would be the SmackDown Champion, Brock would be the RAW Champion. Either a unification match or just champion vs. champion like they do at Survivor Series,” said Bryan Alvarez.

Interestingly, another report indicated that Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley could finally happen following Day 1. It will be intriguing to see what's next in store for the current WWE Champion and Roman Reigns as WrestleMania inches closer.

#4. Update on Sasha Banks' injury scare from a recent WWE house show

Sasha Banks fought Charlotte Flair for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship at a live event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on January 2.

At one point, it looked like The Legit Boss had suffered an injury when her legs were caught underneath during a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker spot. Thankfully, she could complete the match, and Charlotte retained the title as expected. After the contest, a WWE trainer and referee carried Banks to the backstage area.

Since the unfortunate news emerged, the WWE Universe has understandably been concerned for Sasha Banks' health. However, those concerns were put to rest when the superstar herself shared a positive update via Twitter, thanking fans for their support following the injury scare:

The Fayetteville house show is not the first time Banks and Charlotte Flair faced each other in recent memory. Both women have clashed over the last few months at live events.

The last time they went one-on-one on television was during an episode of SmackDown in September 2019. Charlotte emerged victoriously via disqualification on that occasion.

#3. The Usos comment on Roman Reigns' absence from WWE Day 1

While Roman Reigns dropped out of his WWE Day 1 match against Brock Lesnar after testing positive for COVID-19, The Usos put their SmackDown Tag Team Championship at stake against The New Day during the same event.

Not only did Jimmy and Jey Uso win the battle, but they also dedicated this match to Reigns. In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, the brothers gave their take on the Universal Champion's absence from Day 1:

“It felt off not having the Tribal Chief around,” said Jey Uso. “This match was for him. We represented, and he’s going to be OK. He’s home resting, and maybe playing some Call of Duty. We’re going to see him back soon.”

“We opened the show, and we’re so used to seeing The Big Uce close the show,” added Jimmy Uso. “This pandemic is crazy, and all we want is for him to be safe and take care of himself.”

We wish Roman Reigns the best in his recovery and hope he returns to WWE television soon!

#2. WWE made last-minute changes after Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns got canceled

Brock Lesnar's inclusion in the WWE Championship match was not the only change made to Day 1, as Roman Reigns dropping out of the event led to other last-minute decisions as well.

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, several matches on the card went longer than initially planned. The company also added video packages and segments to make up for the canceled Universal Championship contest.

Rumors suggest that Big E would have retained his WWE Championship if not for Lesnar's addition to the fatal four-way clash. Including entrances, this match was reportedly supposed to run for 30 minutes, but the actual bout ended up lasting less than nine minutes for some unknown reason.

As far as Big E's title loss is concerned, most backstage sources Sapp spoke to told him that the 35-year-old was booked inconsistently by the company throughout his world championship reign.

Lesnar winning RAW's top title in the fatal five-way main event has not pleased every fan. However, a radical last-minute decision such as this creates a lot of mystery, which would undoubtedly be helpful for WWE with the road to WrestleMania 38 fast approaching.

#1. Becky Lynch challenges Beth Phoenix to a WWE dream match; Phoenix responds

Becky Lynch successfully defended her WWE RAW Women's Championship at the Day 1 event against Liv Morgan. On the same night, Beth Phoenix appeared to back up her husband, Edge, in his singles match against The Miz (w/ Maryse).

Following the show, the WWE legend tweeted out the following picture:

Lynch responded to the tweet above, suggesting a potential dream match against Phoenix at some point down the road.

However, The Glamazon replied that she is "busy" at the moment. Check out their latest exchange below:

With Beth Phoenix playing a role in Edge's feud against The Miz and Maryse, it's unlikely that we will get to see her face Becky Lynch right now. Still, a future dream clash between both women — who have never gone one-on-one against each other — seems an intriguing idea.

After all, Phoenix has mentioned before that she is a big fan of the current RAW Women's Champion, adding that a match against her falls in the 'never say never' territory. With Lynch recently putting out the suggestion via Twitter, it's safe to say that both stars would want to work with each other if given the opportunity.