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Welcome to another edition of our daily rumor roundup.
The pro wrestling world has been keenly following the chaos that has ensued in the aftermath of Crown Jewel. The rumor mills, as expected, have been churning out a lot of speculation regarding the raging Saudi Arabia story.
In addition to the Saudi Arabia incident, there were other interesting stories as well that are worth mentioning. Such as:
A former Intercontinental Champion has confirmed his return to the company after nearly 14 years.
The original plans for Brock Lesnar were also brought to light. There was also a report about many Superstars planning to leave the company following the Crown Jewel incident. An expected invasion angle may also not happen in the coming weeks.
There's a lot to cover in today's edition, so without any further delay, let's get right into it.
#1. Lance Storm returning to WWE after 14 years
Younger fans may not be familiar with the name mentioned above but the fans of ECW, the Attitude Era and the ones from the pre-Ruthless Aggression phase would know Lance Storm really well.
The former 4-time tag team champion took to Twitter and confirmed that he will return to the company, not as a talent, but as a backstage producer. Storm will be involved with the company for the first time since his exit in 2005.
The veteran is closing down his Storm Wrestling Academy and will be joining WWE once he finishes his final session on November 29th.
The former Intercontinental Champion wrote:
For those wondering: After SWA closes I will be returning to the #WWE to work as a Producer. I’m really looking forward to working with such a high level of talent again.
The 50-year-old Canadian retired from in-ring competition in 2016 and has since focussed on other avenues in pro wrestling. After successfully running his pro wrestling school for a few years, Storm is now ready to get back into the business as a full-time producer.
He will reportedly be a part of the main roster and will work closely with the talents on either SmackDown or RAW.
#2. Original plans for Brock Lesnar
The Brock Lesnar storyline involving Rey Mysterio saw an unforeseen development this past week on SmackDown after the Beast Incarnate announced that he was quitting the Blue brand to go to RAW.
However, both Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar were never scheduled to be on SmackDown in the first place, as revealed by Dave Meltzer on the most recent Wrestling Observer Radio.
The segment about Lesnar leaving SmackDown was originally saved for WWE Backstage's premiere for Tuesday but it had to be moved up due to the situation in Saudi Arabia. The biggest selling point of WWE Backstage's grand first episode was said to be some 'huge news' from the first guest and it's easy to deduct that Lesnar announcing his departure from the Blue brand was exactly that.
However, WWE officials had to call an audible as many Superstars were stranded in Saudi Arabia after Crown Jewel and to have a solid SmackDown show, Heyman and his client were asked to appear on SmackDown.
WWE went ahead with the segment that was originally planned for Backstage on the most recent episode of SmackDown.
Lesnar successfully defended the WWE Championship against Cain Velasquez in a two-minute match at Crown Jewel. Despite getting attacked by Rey Mysterio with a chair after the match, Lesnar managed to overpower both Mysterio and Velasquez to stand tall in the end.
The Beast Incarnate wasn't done with Mysterio though as the WWE Champion went to Vince McMahon and asked for a match against the Master of the 619, who is now part of the RAW brand.
As per the reinforced rules of the brand split, Vince McMahon turned down Lesnar's request, which led to Lesnar quitting SmackDown to go after the masked legend on the Red brand.
#3. Superstars want to leave WWE
Unless you've been living under a rock or have just stopped watching the WWE product after Hell in a Cell, or have just taken a self-imposed break from the internet, you should know about the entire Saudi Arabia fiasco. It's easily the most talked-about topic on pro wrestling right now.
A majority of the WWE roster was left stranded in the Middle Eastern country after Crown Jewel as an Atlas Air flight that was supposed to get the talents back to States 'suffered a mechanical error.'
Dave Meltzer addressed the Saudi Arabia incident and provided many details about the backstage reaction of the talents involved.
Meltzer was told that many Superstars have outrightly stated that they will never go back to Saudi Arabia. He even revealed that a section of roster 'can't wait to get out of the company' but added that they could change their minds in a few months based on what happens with the product as a whole.
Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar and a few other top-tier talents returned to the United States in private jets just in time for SmackDown. However, a large section of the roster was held back and they couldn't make it time for the show on Friday.
The company made a few last-minute changes and what the fans got was one of the best SmackDown episodes in recent memory. NXT Superstars, led by Triple H and Shawn Michaels, invaded the Blue brand and were involved in various segments and matches throughout the show.
How will the Blue brand respond? That takes us to our next rumor...
#4. SmackDown may not invade NXT
With Survivor Series set to revolve around the battle for brand supremacy between SmackDown, RAW and NXT, Triple H and his army in yellow laid down the gauntlet on the most recent episode of SmackDown.
Many Superstars from NXT showed up and made major statements during the show, which ended with The Game and his NXT roster sending out a resounding message to the Superstars of RAW and SmackDown.
Based on the events that went down on SmackDown, it would be safe to assume that the Superstars from the Blue brand would be looking for some kind of retribution, which could be a possible invasion at the next NXT episode on Wednesday.
However, that may not happen as the Superstars from both RAW and SmackDown will travel to the UK for a tour after the next episode of RAW. This rules out the possibility of a potential angle that could have happened in NXT.
WWE could always leave a few SmackDown Superstars back to book an angle in NXT, however, that is unlikely to happen as the company would need all their talents on board for an extensive trip to the UK.
#5. Superstars who refused to go to Saudi Arabia
We don't know whether to call it intuition or just good luck, but a handful of Superstars didn't have to go through the tough circumstances that a majority of the roster faced in Saudi Arabia.
Dave Meltzer revealed the names of the Superstars who refused to work the Crown Jewel PPV on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio.
Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens turned down the offer of making the trip to the Middle East due to unknown reasons. Additionally, Sami Zayn and Aleister Black were also not a part of the Crown Jewel entourage.
Zayn and Black weren't even invited to begin with. The Underdog from the Underground was kept away from the show as he is of Syrian descent.
Black, on the other hand, wasn't involved as his tattoos 'have religious connotations', which was also why he wasn't used at Super ShowDown earlier this year.
#6. Cain Velasquez stayed with the rest of the roster in Saudi Arabia
Dave Meltzer noted on the Wrestling Observer Radio that Cain Velasquez was one of the talents that couldn't get out of Saudi Arabia.
The former UFC Champion returned to the United States reportedly stayed with the rest of the crew in Saudi and only returned with the entire roster.
It was additionally reported that Vince McMahon, his staff and Kevin Dunn made it out of the country in their private jet.
Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Jimmy Hart also left the country in a private plane. It was the similar case with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman, who left early and made it back in time for SmackDown.
Tyson Fury is another name who got out early and it was stated that he was on one of the aforementioned private jets that flew out of the country.
#7. Evolution has been listed as a retired PPV
WWE's historic All-Women's PPV, Evolution has been moved to the retired list on the company's official website under the WWE Network tab. You can see a screenshot of it below:
The first edition of the PPV took place last year in October and it was built around Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Nikki Bella. The former UFC Superstar was the focal point in the build-up to the show and the PPV ended up being a success partly due to Rowdy's mainstream pull as well as the in-ring action that was portrayed throughout the show.
WWE, however, have chosen not to have the second instalment of the PPV this year due to Rousey's absence.
As revealed by Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue, WWE is taking the backseat when it comes to women's wrestling without Evolution in the picture.
While the PPV has been retired, for now, the company can always revive it for a future date. The return of Ronda Rousey can help resurrect the PPV next year, but as of this writing, the company seems to have moved on from the event.
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