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There is so much happening in the WWE, as a matter of fact, in the entire world of professional wrestling, that it's really challenging to keep track of all the latest developments. Keeping that in mind, today's edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup is stacked.
There is apparent backstage concern about the WWE status of Braun Strowman and his ongoing push as the WWE Universal Champion.
The COVID-19 situation is reportedly getting out of hand as the number of positive cases in the WWE is alarmingly high.
We have an update on Renee Young's condition following her tweet in which she confirmed that she contracted the virus.
Top WWE star punished? More details HERE
A young and popular WWE Superstar from NXT is also reportedly under the scanner and reports state that he could be on his way out. WWE is allegedly set to clean the roster of all the problematic talents, and that could lead to a few high-profile releases.
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Last but not least, we have an update on the planned SummerSlam main event which could see the return of a big name to WWE TV. Before we begin, you can gear up by watching the roundup of last week's biggest news and rumors in WWE!
#5. Backstage concern in WWE regarding Braun Strowman's push
Tom Colohue revealed on the latest edition of the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast that there are dissenting voices backstage that are reportedly not in Braun Strowman's favour.
There are people behind the scenes who are not convinced with Braun Strowman being pushed as the top guy on SmackDown, and there have been constant debates about the Monster Among Men's ongoing push.
The backstage concern could very well lead to WWE putting the Universal title back on Bray Wyatt whenever The Fiend returns, however, many other possibilities were discussed.
Tom speculated that if Wyatt manages to retain, then it could lead to Roman Reigns' return sooner rather than later. If Strowman retains, then Wyatt could be on his way to RAW.
Tom noted the following:
"As regards to Strowman, he was the right guy at the right time, but he lucked into this Championship. This was never the plan. Unfortunately for Braun, there is a lot of dissenting voices backstage that aren't necessarily in his corner. There is a lot of debate almost constantly to whether Strowman is the right guy, but the top-level on SmackDown is it's so bare at the moment. What I think we're going to see, is if The Fiend loses, then The Fiend is probably going back to RAW, whereas if The Fiend wins, Roman Reigns is probably returning soon. As regards to Strowman, I'm not sure, and I think that's a bad sign."
WWE announced on SmackDown that Wyatt would take on Strowman in a Wyatt Swamp Fight at Extreme Rules and the match will interestingly not be for the Universal title.
#4. 30+ positive COVID-19 cases in the WWE
The COVID-19 outbreak has, unfortunately, hit the WWE and the situation looks really bad based on all the reports that are doing the rounds.
Tom Colohue and Daniel Wood reported that the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the WWE has reportedly crossed the 30+ figure.
Renee Young, Kayla Braxton, Jamie Noble, Adam Pearce and 'The Ultimate Pusher' Tyreke (WWE Extra), have all come out and confirmed that they had contracted the virus.
It was also noted by Bryan Alvarez on the last Wrestling Observer Live that the situation backstage is much worse than previously imagined.
WWE did manage to tape portions of SmackDown, but the RAW tapings had to be postponed until the next day (Saturday).
WWE officials were not happy with the testing done on RAW talents and crew, and a retest was ordered, which led to the delay in tapings.
More test results are set to come in, and Alvarez noted that it could probably be another bad day in terms of the results.
"Today they were supposed to tape a SmackDown and a Raw. As far as I know, they taped SmackDown. Raw is not taping today. They have announced that Raw is being taped tomorrow. What I have been told by multiple people is that they tested everybody on the Raw side and they did not like the results so they are retesting everybody and they are moving the show until tomorrow. I have zero numbers … whatever number it is, it was enough that they didn't tape today. I was told that tomorrow is also the day that a lot of other results are going to come back….the feeling is tomorrow is gonna be another bad day in terms of results."(H/t WrestlingNews)
#3. Renee Young's condition following positive COVID-19 test
Renee Young took to Twitter a few days ago to confirm that she tested positive for COVID-19. The entire professional wrestling community came together to send well wishes to the popular WWE personality on social media.
We now have a few updates regarding her condition.
As reported by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Renee Young's condition has improved, and it is not as bad as the early stages. The last word, as of June 25th, was that she felt some heaviness in her chest, but the cough had gotten better.
Thankfully enough, the belief is that Renee Young has already been through the worst phase of the infection, and she is on the path to a complete recovery.
It was also noted that Jon Moxley's test result came back as negative. After Young's result was revealed to be positive, the AEW World Champion informed Tony Khan about the same and the promotion nixed his scheduled appearance on last week's episode of Dynamite.
It was noted that Moxley has been told by the doctors to isolate himself, and if he doesn't show symptoms, he could be available for his scheduled Fyter Fest match against Brian Cage. Young and Moxley are both said to be isolating themselves in different parts of the house.
#2. Velveteen Dream involved in a car accident, his days in WWE are reportedly numbered
Velveteen Dream has been in the news over the past few days, and none of the stories are positive.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported that Velveteen Dream met with an accident earlier today and as revealed by WWE to him, the NXT Superstar has already been released from the hospital. While more details weren't disclosed, his release from the medical facility is good news.
The bad news, however, is that WWE could reportedly release Velveteen Dream soon. The Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast revealed that Velveteen Dream's days in the WWE are reportedly numbered.
Sean Ross Sapp said that he'd heard the same backstage while adding that more stories are doing the rounds about Dream which aren't even about the recent allegations made against him.
Various sexual misconduct allegations have been levelled against Velveteen Dream, which were out in the public domain even before the #SpeakingOut movement.
Sean Ross Sapp noted that the WWE is serious about cleaning up the roster with regards to problematic Superstars. Velveteen Dream could be one of the names that gets released, and it could happen really soon.
#1. SummerSlam main event match
As revealed by Tom Colohue on the latest edition of the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, the current plan is to reportedly have Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship as the main event of SummerSlam.
There were rumors about WWE wanting to book Randy Orton in a WWE title programme with McIntyre; however, the company seems to have moved on to resurrecting the Legend Killer persona. The original plan was to have Randy Orton and Edge face each other in a rubber match at SummerSlam, but the Rated-R Superstar's injury led to a significant change of plans.
Tom explained:
Well, there is obviously a lot of change going on at the moment, but to my knowledge, the planned main event for SummerSlam is Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar.
So that wouldn't need Orton in that feud and would need Orton something to do because the idea was that this would be round three of Edge vs. Orton at SummerSlam. That obviously now cannot be the case. Edge's injury did screw them over quite a bit. It's just unlucky on everybody's part. Paul Heyman did want to go in another direction, but Vince overruled him, and of course, now Paul Heyman isn't there to fight the corner. Orton doesn't seem to be there to work with some of the younger guys. They brought back the legend killer; they needed a legend, and Christian isn't cleared. Big Show it is.
