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Today's rumor roundup is stacked due to the fallout of an eventful Crown Jewel PPV. There were interesting backstage updates regarding the big matches that went down in Saudi Arabia.
First and foremost, Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez was never supposed to happen in the manner in which it did as the company had other plans in store for the WWE Championship match. Additionally, another big name was originally discussed to be the Beast Incarnate's opponent at the show.
Bray Wyatt finally captured the Universal Championship and the reason behind the same was also brought to light. WWE also created history at the show by having the first-ever women's match in Saudi Arabia. There were some intriguing backstage notes regarding the planning that went into the monumental bout.
There was disconcerting news regarding a talented Superstar and about how the company doesn't see him as a top singles star.
WWE also made a big change in their decision regarding Finn Balor's immediate future. Finally, the talk of CM Punk's return could be put to rest as another surprising name has been brought in as Punk's replacement for a role on WWE Backstage.
That was an overview of today's lineup of rumors. On that note, here are the complete details regarding each rumor mentioned above:
#1 The reason why Bray Wyatt won the Universal Championship at Crown Jewel
The Fiend Bray Wyatt finally got his hands on the WWE Universal Championship after a laborious main event in Crown Jewel. The outcome of the match came as a surprise to many fans as SmackDown now has both the top champions of the company.
However, there could be a reason why WWE booked it to happen.
As revealed by Cagesideseats, WWE may have handed Wyatt the Universal Title as they could be planning a big trade between RAW and SmackDown in the future. This could get Wyatt as well as the Universal CHampionship back to RAW. Shifting the attention to speculation of different nature, Dave Meltzer stated on the Wrestling Observer Radio that the company may not even have Wyatt with the title for long and he guessed that the Superstar could even drop the championship at the upcoming Survivor Series PPV.
The most likely scenario right now would be for WWE to use the big trade clause and send Wyatt back to RAW soon.
#2 Vince McMahon still doesn't see Cesaro as a top singles star
Despite being one of the most consistent in-ring talents in the WWE, Cesaro has never found himself in a top spot in the company. That's been the norm all this while and it isn't changing anytime soon.
Dave Meltzer was asked about the Swiss Superman on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio. He revealed that while Cesaro is respected backstage, Vince McMahon and the WWE officials don't see him as a top singles talent.
What makes matters worse for Cesaro is the fact that the fans, who wanted Cesaro to be given a deserved singles push all this while, have also given up on the former tag team champion.
Here's what Meltzer said:
"I mean, obviously everybody respects him. I think as far as do they see him as a guy who is going to be one of their top guys? I mean look, he has been there forever, he has been great forever. So the answer is no. They don't. You know, that's Vince. He's always been like that."
"He doesn't see something in you and that's it, and even when there were periods, you know, Cesaro is one of those guys where there were periods where you know you get that groundswell support and then you know when people keep pushing for you and he had that Cesaro section period, and after a while, whether it's Cesaro or Dolph Ziggler, they get tired of pushing you when you are not getting pushed, and you just kind of throw up your hands and give up. And I think that the people have given up on him years ago. But he is still a really good worker, and this was a prime example."
Cesaro was involved in a solid match at Crown Jewel in which he put over Mansoor at the end of the 12-minute contest.
#3 The original plan for Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
Cain Velasquez had a forgettable night at Crown Jewel as the former UFC Champion was destroyed in just over two minutes on his WWE debut by Brock Lesnar.
Brock Lesnar did what Brock Lesnar does best and that is to squash his opponent. This time, however, his victim was an established athlete who has legitimately beaten him in the past.
The much-hyped match between the two former UFC stars had an underwhelming impact due to the duration and nature of the match. But that was not what the company had always wanted.
As revealed by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the company wanted a Paul Heyman-style match between the two stars, however, the decision was taken to keep it short due to Velasquez' knee injury.
Velasquez vs. Lesnar was supposed to be on the lines of Goldberg's matches with the Beast Incarnate and it would have had a fast-paced style with big moves. However, WWE didn't want to take a risk with Velasquez's knee, which is in a worse condition than previously expected.
Meltzer explained:
Velasquez’s knee was worse than expected. The idea was always for a short match, with the Paul Heyman style Goldberg match lay out of big moves, but with Velasquez’s knee in such bad shape, they changed it to a match where nothing much happened. The belief is that he needs surgery. No word on the status of the Mexico City match but I’d think he’d want to do that one if possible. But after two very strong performances with AAA, the WWE version of Velasquez did absolutely nothing, and I can’t see anyone caring at all about him going forward. And he’s signed a high-dollar multi-year contract.
#4 Brock Lesnar vs. Tyson Fury was discussed for Crown Jewel
Both Brock Lesnar and Tyson Fury won their respective matches at the recently concluded PPV in the Middle East. However, if WWE had gone ahead with their original plan, then one of them would have been forced to lose at the show.
Dave Meltzer revealed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Fury vs. Lesnar was talked about backstage. The match didn't see the light of the day as the company signed up Velasquez, who had some history with Lesnar that the WWE could capitalize on.
Fury would go on to have a decent pro wrestling debut against Braun Strowman while Lesnar managed to retain the WWE Championship against Velasquez.
Fury said that the original idea talked with him about was a Crown Jewel match with Lesnar, but the idea changed when they were able to sign Velasquez. According to those internally, Lesnar vs. Fury was discussed but never got past early discussions, likely due to Velasquez having the storyline from the past and being the bigger star in the U.S. market, which is WWE’s primary market. And for Saudi Arabia, it wasn’t the matchups that were important as much as delivering matches with Fury and Velasquez.
#5 Backstage notes on Natalya vs. Lacey Evans
It was a monumental night at Crown Jewel as Natalya and Lacey Evans wrestled each other in the first-ever women's pro wrestling match in Saudi Arabia. It was evident that the occasion meant a lot to both performers, who were quite emotional during and after the match.
WWE, as expected, played it safe by dropping the gimmicks of both the stars. Natalya and Evans were completely covered up and worked a regular pro wrestling match.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer revealed that WWE didn't focus on having a quality match but was rather leaning towards sending a message. Evans was also forced to drop her entire gimmick for the match.
The idea was the match was a step, and to make sure not to do anything that would be taken wrongly. Evans dropped her entire gimmick, her walk, and avoided doing anything that could be constituted as sexy, which is why her look besides her costuming was also very different.
Both were smiling but Natalya was beaming. Those close to the situation said Natalya, who saw this as the most important thing she had ever done in her career, said she felt during the match like she was in an out-of-body experience. At times you could see the emotion almost overcome her.
Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue also revealed that the WWE officials were thrilled with how the match went and that it went exactly how they'd envisioned.
#6 Finn Balor pulled from the UK tour, original plans for him before NXT move revealed
Despite being an active member of the NXT roster, Finn Balor has been advertised for the WWE tour in the UK along with the SmackDown roster for this month.
However, Dave Meltzer reports that WWE has changed their decision and have pulled Balor from the tour. He also revealed that Balor was originally slated to return to the Blue brand after his short break earlier this year, however, the company took the call to send him back to the Yellow brand.
This was done due to the nature of the SmackDown ratings as well as the fact that NXT did need a big-name star.
Balor is being advertised on SmackDown brand shows on the U.K. tour but we’re told the decision has changed and because of his being with NXT, he won’t be on the tour. Before they made the move to put him on NXT, the plan was for him to be on the Smackdown crew. When he lost to Wyatt badly, the idea was he’d go on his sabbatical and switch to SmackDown on his return, but then when the ratings ended up going the way they did, he was moved to NXT with the idea that his star power could make more of a difference there.
#7 Ryan Satin in, CM Punk out
As revealed in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, FOX has brought in Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin for a role on WWE Backstage.
Meltzer noted the following:
Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet will have a regular role on the show, likely as the reporter to break news in the role Ariel Helwani had on the UFC version of the show.
This effectively rules out CM Punk returning to WWE in some capacity as he was originally in the running to be a part of the FS1 show.
It was also confirmed by Cageside Seats that the big upcoming announcement from Renee Young isn't about CM Punk.
The huge news Renee Young has teased for WWE Backstage isn’t expected to have anything to do with CM Punk.
You can now rate the entire card from Crown Jewel right here on Sportskeeda!
