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We welcome you all to another stacked edition of the WWE Rumor Roundup.
The coronavirus outbreak is still the biggest news and disruptor of the day and we just can't wait for it all to die down. The pandemic has already caused enough trouble for the WWE and the latest changes are truly unprecedented.
The company is in danger of not having a few Superstars for WrestleMania 36, and Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest names on that list.
WWE has also chalked out an ambitious plan with regards to WrestleMania, RAW and SmackDown and they are putting together all the available resources in order to accomplish the task.
How has the locker room reacted to the extensive changes made to WrestleMania? We now know that as well.
A former WWE Champion may not be interested in ever wrestling again and his staunch supporters won't be pleased with the report.
There is also an update on WWE's trust in a Superstar from SmackDown. We also have an update regarding The Undertaker's intriguing new character.
Today's lineup has the biggest rumors from WWE.
#6. Brock Lesnar and a few other Superstars could miss WrestleMania
The coronavirus pandemic has led to various travel bans being imposed across the world.
US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have revealed plans to close down the border between the two countries that could potentially lead to a problematic situation for the WWE.
As highlighted by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there are questions regarding Brock Lesnar's WrestleMania status as he resides in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The US/Canada border will be closed to non-essential traffic but there is a possibility that it opens up before WrestleMania. The current belief is that he will make it, as the Beast Incarnate is also scheduled to be on the next episode of RAW to confront Drew McIntyre, however, there is no confirmation as of this writing.
Even if Lesnar enters the country for RAW, he would have to find a place to stay until 'Mania as there has also been a drive to shut hotels down.
The Singh Brothers are expected to miss the Show of Shows, as hinted on their Twitter handle.
When it comes to Kevin Owens, the RAW Superstar lives in Florida and his status for the show isn't an issue.
The following was noted in the Newsletter:
There are questions, notably the borders closing to Canada, regarding Lesnar, who lives in Saskatchewan. The belief right now is that Lesnar will be getting in and Raw this week in theory will show that one way or the other since he’s scheduled. For lesser names, like The Singhs, who still live in the Vancouver area, they tweeted that it looks like they won’t be able to work any time soon. People have asked about Owens, but he lives in Florida so there’s no issue.
#5. CM Punk has no interest in wrestling again
The CM Punk in-ring return rumors came to the fore yet again this week after the former WWE Champion revealed during an interview on Swings & Mrs. With Cody and Jennifer Decker that he would be ready to wrestle again for the right amount of money against either Daniel Bryan, Rey Mysterio, Will Ospreay or John Cena.
Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue asked his sources about the possibility of Punk returning and he was provided with the same message as before. Punk has no interest in wrestling again, not for WWE or any other promotion.
The 5-time World Champion is enjoying his new role as an analyst and is just 'stoking the fire' with his latest statement for his own amusement.
Here's what Tom told Korey Gunz on Sportskeeda's Dropkick DiSKussions podcast:
For years now, anytime we've seen a report come out, CM Punk's doing this, CM Punk's doing that, I've asked the question and I've always got the same response. CM Punk has no interest in wrestling. He doesn't want to go back to wrestling. He doesn't want to wrestle for any particular company, he just does not want to wrestle. He wants to talk, which he's doing right now. He seems to have moved in from MMA, but he may be returning to that at some point. I do feel he is really enjoying stoking this fire.
#4. New WrestleMania 36 plan could see the show being filmed in advance
This year's WrestleMania will be a unique event for a majority of reasons. The show will be a two-day event and it will happen inside the WWE Performance Center. That's not all, the event may not even be live.
As reported by POST Wrestling, WWE has sent out a memo internally in the company telling everyone to not mention the word live while promoting WrestleMania.
'Live on the WWE Network', and 'Streaming live' are some of the tag lines that are set to be avoided and the company has instead gone ahead with the line, 'Too Big for One Night'.
WWE not mentioning the word 'live' during the promotion of the show is another indicator that they may shoot portions of the show in advance.
POST Wrestling had reported earlier that the company has an ambitious plan to tape all the upcoming episodes of RAW and SmackDown, as well as sections of 'Mania at the Performance Center. The expectation within the company is that WWE may tape WrestleMania next week itself, however, there was no confirmation about the rumor.
A report from Wrestling Observer also stated that WWE may end up pre-taping WrestleMania, but the details of the same have been kept secret and only a handful of people are 'in the loop'.
Even the talents don't know much about how WWE plans on tackling the tapings.
WrestleMania, however, will air on April 4th and 5th and it will be hosted by retired NFL player Rob Gronkowski.
#3. Backstage reaction to WrestleMania changes
The widespread changes made to WrestleMania due to the Covid-19 threat has affected everyone in the WWE. The officials are scrambling to put a show together and the talents are not happy with the unforeseen alterations, as revealed by Tom Colohue on the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast.
While there is a general understanding regarding WWE's decisions, the Superstars are unhappy and there was genuine shock in the locker room.
The talents who were set to be a part of their first WrestleMania are not satisfied with the changes. The same feeling applies to the Superstars who were returning for their first WrestleMania in a while.
Here's what Tom said about the backstage reaction:
Negative, I got to say, there was certainly a lot of understanding because it's very hard for anyone in that locker room or in fact any one of us acting as pundits to come in and say, 'this would have been better or this would have been better.' Their objective here was safeguarding as many people as possible. Nearly a 100,000 people would have been at that show, so there is certainly understanding, but the performers unfortunately simply aren't happy with the situation.
It was a bit of a shock decision to them, and there are also some people, either it's their first WrestleMania or their first WrestleMania back, and it's not what they were dreaming of, it's not what they were hoping for and to have such a big event, of all the events that it could happen, WrestleMania, the biggest event of the year, people are quite understandably upset about this decision.
#2. WWE has a lot of trust in Baron Corbin
The fans may hate to see him on TV every week, but WWE management has a lot of faith in Baron Corbin.
While discussing the empty arena matches that happened this week, Tom Colohue revealed that the officials trust the SmackDown Superstar a lot, which is why he gets featured so prominently.
Corbin's in-ring work has been termed clean and clinical and he may have already reached the level of an old pro in the eyes of the powers that be.
Tom revealed:
I've mentioned before, there is a lot of trust in Baron Corbin to make sure that whatever he does is very clear cut, very clinical, and very trusted. He always delivers. So he's very much getting to that old-pro level already.
#1. The Undertaker's new character
The Undertaker wasn't his usual self on the most recent episode of RAW. The iconic robe and hat were missing and the Deadman seemed more agitated than usual. He had a good reason to be angry as well, as AJ Styles had taken some very personal shots at him on last week's episode.
While the fans saw shades of The American Badass character, WWE could be heading in a fresh direction when it comes to the Undertaker's character.
Tom Colohue revealed that we may not see the Badass but a new and different version of the Phenom.
As mentioned in the recording they did between the Undertaker and Steve Austin that The Undertaker is leading into another run, shall we say. He has this particular way of doing things but he wants to have some longevity and maybe The Undertaker character isn't right anymore. The American Badass is unlikely to return. It was much for the time. It was created to sort of keep him going for the attitude era.
But it could be that the Deadman has simply run its course and so he has to now evolve and make something different. It has been mentioned to me that we are going to see something different, something new, we are not going to see a return to the old Undertaker. They want a clean slate, they want a refresher and everyone involved wants that as well. Also, it's too late, the kayfabe age is well and truly gone.
