WWE Rumor Roundup: Demand for top Superstars to be fired for big blunder; Massive character change for Bray Wyatt; How Roman Reigns turned the fans - 30th August 2020

Welcome to another edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup, where we try and bring you the biggest updates and latest rumors from the world of WWE. After a spectacular SummerSlam, WWE is holding another PPV this Sunday - Payback.

The show will see Roman Reigns take on Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship in a triple threat match. There have been a lot of rumors in regards to what the future holds for Roman Reigns and if WWE is finally turning The Big Dog heel.

We will be talking all about what will happen to Roman Reigns and The Fiend after Payback.

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#5 Roman Reigns to win WWE Universal Championship and turn heel

Roman Reigns returned to WWE at SummerSlam and destroyed Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman after their Universal title match. It had been reported that Vince McMahon wants to make Reigns an edgier character now, which is why he has had a new attitude.

As reported by WrestlingNews.co, Roman Reigns is set to become the Universal Champion at Payback. PWInsider have also stated that Roman Reigns is going to be turned into the top heel on SmackDown with Paul Heyman by his side.

The idea is to have Reigns turn heel so that there is no backlash on him when the fans return to the arena. It is hoped that the fans will like the edgier version of The Big Dog and start cheering him again.

Speaking on his podcast, Arn Anderson revealed how Roman Reigns would get the live audience to cheer for him:

"Everybody just wanted to join in and be part of the majority, I've seen that in live events, where it started that way and by the end of the night, it was 100% cheering Roman. Any combination of The Shield and The Wyatts was just a great match, and those guys just literally pounded the piss out of each other." (h/t Wrestling Inc.)

#4 Jim Cornette demands WWE Superstars Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to be fired

Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose went through a hellacious ordeal last week when a stalker broke into Deville's house while Rose was with her. Although the two escaped unharmed, the incident led to Sonya Deville wanting to take time off from WWE.

Jim Cornette stated on his podcast that he believes that Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville should have been fired by WWE for breaking kayfabe right ahead of their big match at SummerSlam. He stated that if WWE doesn't want to fire them right now fearing backlash, then they should wait a few months and then release the two of them.

Here is what WON reported:

Jim Cornette on his podcast said that WWE should have fired or at least fined Rose and Deville for contradicting their storyline when it became public they were best friends. Cornette then backed down saying they didn’t have to fire them (at first he said fire them, then said if it would cause heat now, they should wait six months for the heat to die down and then fire them) but should have fined them.

#3 Major character change being planned for Bray Wyatt by WWE

As reported, WWE is planning to make Roman Reigns the next Universal Champion as well as the top heel on SmackDown. But where does that leave the current Universal Champion 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt?

PWInsider has stated that The Fiend is planned to become the top babyface on WWE SmackDown and will be pursuing Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship in the coming months.

Here is what WrestleTalk stated:

PWInsider is reporting that now that Braun Strowman is one of the top heels of the brand and with Reigns turning heel, the decision was made to have Wyatt be the top babyface of the brand.

The current WWE Universal Champion The Fiend has always been popular with the fans but has been booked as a heel. Now, with Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns both turning heel, it is clear that WWE will have to make Bray Wyatt the babyface as there is no other top star to lead SmackDown as a face.

#2 Original WWE return plans for AOP

The Authors of Pain (AOP) had finally started making an impact on the WWE main roster as part of Seth Rollins' faction before an injury forced them to be shelved. AOP member Rezar suffered a bicep injury in March and the team hasn't been seen since.

Paul Ellering, who served as the team's manager in NXT recently talked to Two Man Power Trip podcast and revealed WWE's original plans for AOP's return to WWE.

"The idea was to bring me back in, but then this corona stuff came up. Then the guys got hurt, and they were out a while, so everything got put on the back shelf, and I don't know where it sits now."

Seth Rollins' faction seems to be cursed as no member other than Murphy has been able to stick around with The Messiah for long. First it was the AOP who were removed from tv then Austin Theory got sent back to NXT.

It will be interesting to see if AOP return and re-join Seth Rollins or if they come back along with their old manager Paul Ellering.

#1 Jeff Hardy talks about his controversial storyline in WWE with Sheamus

Current WWE Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy has had a rough road when it comes to his personal life. The Charismatic Enigma has battled addiction throughout his life and has admitted to having personal demons.

Recently WWE was criticized for using Jeff Hardy's personal struggles as part of his storyline feud with Sheamus. Jeff Hardy talked about the feud and the bar fight match when speaking to Daily Star.

"When the idea of the bar match was thrown out there, I wrote up a whole script of how the match would possibly go. Most of it never happened, but I do love [doing] that."

"The stuff with Sheamus that's happened most recently, I knew there was a great outcome in it. I knew that bar fight was going to be cinematic and good. All the stuff building up to that match, I just knew the outcome was going to be fantastic. And it's good to face challenges like that because there's so much negativity in the world."