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It's time for another edition of our daily WWE Rumor Roundup. Despite being a relatively slow news day, we managed to unearth five interesting stories that are being talked about amongst the WWE Universe.
Hulk Hogan, believe it or not, almost made his in-ring return recently at WrestleMania 36 and details about the match that he was planned to win have now come to light.
Undertaker was also originally planned to face a current Champion at WrestleMania 26. The match that couldn't happen back then is a big possibility for the near future.
There was also a spoiler regarding a segment for the upcoming episode of RAW. It's pretty unique, to say the least.
An injured WWE Superstar's in-ring career is also a matter of legitimate concern as the said talent may have suffered a career-ending injury.
There is also a story about a top Superstar being handed a lot of creative freedom backstage, and he even pitched the idea of him turning heel to WWE.
We've got a few big stories to cover in today's lineup, so let's get right to it.
#5 WWE's reported plan for Hulk Hogan's in-ring return
Hulk Hogan has been actively pushing for a return to the ring for a long time now and the WWE Hall of Famer is pretty serious about his desire to have one more match.
He was very close to being booked for a WrestleMania 36 match.
As reported by Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co, there was a pitch made to get Hulk Hogan back and have him win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Vince McMahon was 'on board' to let Hulk Hogan return and the plan was still 'on the table' as late as February. The match primarily fell through because WWE and Hogan couldn't work out a deal as the negotiations broke down due to a disagreement regarding financial terms.
A WWE source revealed to Paul Davis that the idea was to protect Hulk Hogan in the proposed match. The Hulkster would not have taken any bumps. His job would have been to eliminate the one Superstar or the final two competitors before winning the match at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
"The idea was he wouldn’t take any bumps. We would work it so he would only have to eliminate one or two guys at the end and then he would get his big celebration at the end with his music. It would have been perfect because he lives in the Tampa area.”
Will WWE revisit the plan in the future?
The idea was that Hogan winning in Tampa, the place where he resides, would have been a solid pop-worthy moment.
However, even if WWE had come to terms for a deal with Hogan, the Battle Royal would have been nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the plan got dumped in the bin, the fact that WWE was interested in getting the 66-year-old legend back leaves the door open for a return after the crowds are back at the shows. This is merely speculation but it's a possibility when you look deeper into it. WrestleMania 37, maybe?
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#4 Seth Rollins has creative freedom
Seth Rollins' new gimmick has received polarizing reactions from the WWE Universe. While a section of the fanbase has compared it to CM Punk's Straight Edge Society, the other half consider his new character to be a little too bland.
Seth Rollins, however, is putting in a lot of effort to make his gimmick work. As revealed by Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue on the new Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, Seth Rollins has a considerable amount of creative freedom and he himself decided to turn heel.
Paul Heyman and Bruce Prichard have ensured that the WWE creative team listens to the ideas of the talents. Rollins and Daniel Bryan reportedly have a say in their character and storyline direction in WWE at the moment.
"Seth Rollins has had a lot more say over what he does other than he was told that he would be working with Drew McIntyre as they needed him there. But with Seth, a lot of what he is doing now is under his own direction."
Tom noted that since his Hell in a Cell match against Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins has been working closely with the WWE creative team to push what he envisions for his character.
"That dates back to Hell in a Cell. He made the choice to steer into the fan impression and turn heel. He made the choice to have that sermon where he preached to everyone after Survivor Series because he was taking the p**s out of someone who was telling that he had a rah-rah speech that he apparently did not have, and since then, the creative team has been very openly listening"
Even though the initial idea to have AOP in Rollins' faction was suggested by the WWE, the former WWE Universal Champion was the one who took the plan forward a moulded it according to his vision. He reportedly wanted Murphy in his faction and the same can be speculated in Austin Theory's case as well.
"The initial pairing with the Authors of Pain was suggested to him but since then he has been steering his own path. He has been going under his own direction. He chose Murphy. He has been very open about the fact that he has been very impressed with Murphy and I'm sure over the next few weeks how impressed he is with Austin Theory and how much he wanted to work with him. Seth is out there looking for people to fit what he is trying to do and I don't think anyone is going to be turning him down anytime soon."
#3 There is legitimate concern about Ember Moon's in-ring future
During her recent appearance on WWE Backstage, Ember Moon revealed that her current injury could potentially be a career-ending one.
Moon has been out of action since September after she suffered an Achilles injury while chasing after the WWE 24/7 Championship.
Korey Gunz asked Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue about Ember Moon's status on the latest edition of the Dropkick DiSKussiobns podcast.
Tom noted that there is legitimate concern over Ember Moon's future and that it's not a part of any long-term WWE storyline. Tom said that while we've seen a few talents recently return from career-ending injuries, the decision to wrestle again comes down to the talent. Tom said that Ember Moon would not have labeled her injury as potentially career-ending if it were to be false.
Tom explained:
This is a legitimate concern. Although we've seen a lot of people return from potentially career-ending injuries recently, it is still up to the wrestler what happens there. This could be a career-ender. She would not have said if it wasn't, and we've seen some of that in her efforts to expand her range with the time that she's been spending with UpUpDownDown, and the time on WWE Backstage to get experience elsewhere for what may be a future without wrestling. Myself, I'm sure yourself, and everyone at Sportskeeda really does wish her all the best and we do hope to see her in the wrestling ring sooner rather than later if it all possible.
#2 Drew McIntyre was scheduled to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26
The Undertaker's WrestleMania 26 clash against Shawn Michaels is considered to be one of the greatest wrestling matches in WWE history. However, the fans could have missed out on greatness had WWE gone ahead with their original idea for the show.
Drew McIntyre revealed during his recent interview with WWE on BT Sport that he was earmarked to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26.
The current WWE Champion was just 24 years old then and Vince McMahon had told him that Undertaker was the go-to guy if he needed any advice. The goal was to have Undertaker be McIntyre's mentor with the final destination being a match between the two at WrestleMania 26, but the Scottish Psychopath wasn't ready in time to step up to the next level.
He revealed the following:
“When I was 24 I was told by Vince McMahon, ‘you don’t listen to anybody but the Undertaker, he’s going to be your mentor and whenever you’ve got a question you go straight to him’. And the inevitable goal was to have a big match between him and I. Unfortunately I wasn’t ready at the time, things worked out the way they worked out, and I believe it led to, instead of myself and Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker, the retirement match. It was obviously a phenomenal match and I could not have delivered on that level at the time.”
The match that didn't happen ten years go could come to fruition somewhere down the line as McIntyre has dropped hints of wanting to face The Deadman.
#1 Spoiler for RAW revealed
The feud between The Viking Raiders and The Street Profits has not been your run-of-the-mill tag team storyline. Thus far, we've got a basketball match and an ax-throwing competition on the recent episodes of RAW and WWE has already taped the next segment in the outrageous yet entertaining angle.
As revealed by Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select, WWE has already taped a skit in Orlando in which the tag teams were seen playing mini-golf.
Fightful has learned that an upcoming Street Profits vs. Viking Raiders skit was filmed in Orlando featuring the two teams playing Mini-Golf.
This is another feud that has received mixed reactions from the fans. The Viking Raiders have shown a different side to their characters and while many would call it unwantedly goofy - which threatens to diminish their destructive aura - it has added a different dimension to their act.
We still don't know when the Street Profits will defend the WWE RAW Tag Team titles against the Raiders in a traditional wrestling match, but for now, the company seems to be content by moving forward with the innovative non-wrestling contests.
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