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Welcome once again to our daily WWE rumor round. You know what we do.
With AEW's All Out grabbing all the headlines, the rumors were far and between in WWE. As always, we've gone to the extreme depths of the dirt sheets to get you five pieces of speculation doing the rounds.
A handful of these stories may not even classify as rumors, but the ambiguity surrounding them make them worthy enough to feature as part of our round-up.
A multiple-time WWE Champion confirmed that he will retire from pro wrestling as soon as his current contract with the company comes to an end.
A missing WWE Superstar dropped an intriguing teaser on a new look and gimmick while preparing for a return. Elsewhere, WWE made a major hire to spearhead an exciting new project. There was also a backstage update regarding the next WWE draft and what the fans can expect from the same.
The hopes of seeing CM Punk in a WWE ring were reignited once again after he made a surprising admission during the Starrcast interview.
Let's look at each one of them in a detailed manner:
#1. AJ Styles to retire after his WWE contract expires
United States Champion AJ Styles was on Lillian Garcia's Chasing Glory podcast where he opened about his in-ring future. The 2-time WWE Champion admitted that he would be hanging up his boots after his current contract with the WWE reaches its end.
“I had no doubt that you know this is what I was going to do for my career. It really was. And you couldn’t have told me any different. And I can tell you that the contract that I signed, here in the WWE, is my last. This is it for me. This is where I’m going to end my career no matter what happens. I got to, you know? I want to be there for my kids.” H/t Credit: WrestlingInc
It's a shame that AJ Styles came to WWE during the latter as he would have surely added countless other accolades to his already glittering resume. As stated earlier, Styles has won the WWE title twice and is currently in his third reign with the United States Championship.
At 42 years old, the Phenomemal One is still one of the best in-ring performers in the world and it won't be surprising if WWE lures him into another lucrative deal.
Styles signed a contract extension earlier this year and is expected to be around for another couple of years. However, what happens once the new deal comes to an end? Will he call it a day or will Vince McMahon coax him into prolonging his stay? Only time will tell. For now, enjoy the brilliance of Styles for as long as you can.
#2. Liv Morgan teases new look and gimmick
Out of all the Superstars who are currently sidelined for varied reasons, Liv Morgan is doing a fine job of keeping the fans invested in her impending return.
The former NXT Superstar took to her Twitter account to post an astonishing video of her chopping off her pink hair.
Morgan cutting off the customary pink hair continues her on-going character transformation. The former Riott Squad member was drafted to SmackDown Live during the 2019 Superstar Shake-up, which marked the end of the 3-member faction.
Morgan last competed on the July 16th episode of SmackDown Live where she took on Charlotte Flair in a losing effort. A video of Morgan getting drenched in the rain was shared at the beginning of August, which served as the first teaser of her new gimmick.
Morgan would comment on the video by stating, "Rain is cleansing." Her recent Twitter activity gives us a clear picture of the apparent change that is currently in the works.
Dave Meltzer did confirm in July that WWE was planning on keeping her off TV before getting her back with a new appearance and gimmick.
Morgan is a talented performer who has the charisma to be an asset to the relatively thin Women's division on the blue brand. We all know how Bray Wyatt's transformation into The Fiend has worked wonders for the former WWE Champion.
An alteration for Morgan should similarly help her rise as a singles star on SmackDown.
#3. WWE makes an important signing
As confirmed by PWInsider, WWE has hired Dara Frank to assume the role of being the Senior Director of the company's new podcast network.
WWE announced its podcast network last week, which would function in partnership with Endeavour Audio. The signing of Dara Frank is seen as major development as she comes into the WWE with years of documented experience in the media and podcasting spectrum.
Frank joined Viacom in 2007 and rose to become quite an influential figure in the media giant. She was the Senior Director of podcasts, radio and records and was responsible for raking in a lot of money by supervising sales, marketing, strategy and production in the divisions that she helmed.
As highlighted by the dependable folks at PWInsider, Frank brought in talents for the podcasts for Viacom, brokered deals with marketing and advertising partners and was the central figure of her department.
Her exemplary track record is the biggest reason why the hiring is seen as a big one in wrestling circles. WWE is serious on expanding its content catalogue and adding a podcast network is a step in the right direction.
WWE has still not announced when the podcast network will be introduced to the fans but that should happen sooner rather than later now that they have Dara Frank on board.
The podcast network is expected to be featured on the WWE Network as well all the other streaming services that have podcasts.
#4. The next WWE Draft
With SmackDown set to move to Fox in October, there is speculation going around that WWE will be going back to a hard brand split with dedicated rosters for both brands.
However, the company is reportedly planning on having another Draft to set in place permanent rosters, as per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. While major changes are not expected to be made, WWE does plan on having small modifications made to the current rosters, which may also include NXT stars moving to Raw.
Here's what Meltzer revealed regarding the draft and the future of the three brands on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
Right now there is a concept of another draft type of thing to build permanent Raw and Smackdown rosters. What we were originally told is that they wouldn't be making major changes, but some changes, but this is Vince. Everything is being kept quiet and USA and FOX will be the first to know when the concept is decided.
Regarding NXT guys on Raw to build their names prior to the show, nothing is certain but there are arguments both ways, that it will give them exposure to help build the launch, or that everyone knows that any cross-pollination on Raw would establish them as secondary level stars and you don't need that now.
Plus, it would lead to more interference from the NXT people's own vision. It was described that Paul Levesque's dream of creating a legitimate third brand of his own just came true, but now he has to play defense to keep Vince and Kevin Dunn's influence away.
#5. CM Punk prepared to talk to WWE but he won't reach out to them
The Best in the World Starrcast III interview featuring CM Punk proved to be an insightful 90 minutes of revelations about the former WWE Superstar's life.
The most newsworthy bit, of course, was Punk's stance on a possible return to WWE.
Punk was interestingly asked about whether he'd entertain the idea of talking to Vince McMahon and Triple H regarding the possibility of a comeback.
Punk cheekily replied, "I wouldn't not talk to them."
He continued:
"In what business does somebody suspend somebody else and then not come get them after the suspension. Why was it up to me? It’s just a weird situation. That said, I’m over it. I’ve been over it a very long time. It’s in the past. I’m 40 years old and I try to be as zen and wise as I possibly can be.
My life has taught me a lot of times I’d be confrontational when there was no need to be confrontational. Somebody cuts you off in traffic, who gives a s***? You’re going to see them at the red light. I’m not racing to the red light anymore. This will be taken out of context and lesser websites clickbait for the next week, but I’ll have a conversation with anybody. But it’s nothing I’m reaching. I’m not calling them. I’ll talk to ya’ and see what you’ve got to say. But it better be good… I think I had a pretty good career, I don’t think there’s anything left I need to accomplish.
There was stuff done under the guise of business that was absolutely personal that I’ve let go. I know who they are and if they didn’t talk to me, why would they talk to me now. It’s not an issue in my life, so whatever." H/t Credit: PWTorch
We're sure Vince McMahon and Triple H got the message but would they be ready to pick the phone up and make the call? Wednesday Night Wars are soon going to be upon us and we just can't rule out negotiations taking place. WWE needs a few big surprises to trump the raging popularity of AEW and it can't get any better than bringing Punk back.
To keep up to date with all the WWE news and rumors, follow us on Twitter at @SKProWrestling.
