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Welcome to our daily round-up of all the noteworthy rumors that are being talked about in the WWE. It's been a busy day as many good bits of speculation came to our notice.
There is a noticeable change in the way WWE is operating behind the scenes. We had reported earlier that the company was pushing towards a minimally scripted product going forward and now, in addition to the freedom, new faces could also be given a deserved push.
SmackDown's move to the Fox Network is expected to be a big deal and the company could be planning on extending the overall runtime of the show by merging it with another program.
Stephanie McMahon was also in the news as her name was brought up regarding a big match that could happen in the future. Talking about the McMahons, Vince McMahon recently sent a message to his writers during a meeting. Additionally, it was also reported that the WWE boss may have forgotten about a major SmackDown personality.
A former champion expressed their desire to come out of retirement while another injured star hyped up his highly anticipated comeback to the ring.
Let's get into the details then, shall we?
#1. Tommaso Ciampa is hyping up his return
Former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa could return to the ring pretty soon and that's brilliant news for NXT, which will be moving to the USA Network on September 18th.
Ciampa took to Twitter to reveal that it has been six months since he underwent neck surgery with the hashtags #TheReturn, #TickTock and #2x!
“Today marks exactly 6 months since neck surgery. I’m no stranger to this game. We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better. Stronger. Faster. #TheReturn #TickTock #2X”c
Ciampa hasn't competed since February and has been away all together since relinquishing the title in May earlier this year. A report in July stated he was expected to return in a month and we have already passed the stipulated timeframe.
A return at NXT's premiere on the USA Network seems ideal, doesn't it?
#2. WWE trying to push new faces
The hirings of Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as the new Executive Directors of Raw and SmackDown respectively have brought about a considerable change in the WWE product.
RAW has been a major beneficiary of Heyman's experience as the red brand has put out a few good shows of late. Backstage reports have stated that the product is not expected to be as scripted as before. The promos cut by Sasha Banks, Bayley and Rey Mysterio on the most recent episode of RAW were not handed out to them word-for-word and that seems to be the direction going forward, wherein Superstars are expected to be given the leeway to express themselves.
That's not the only change, though. WWE also wants to push new Superstars at the moment, as reported by Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio.
Cedric Alexander, Ricochet, Buddy Murphy and Chad Gable are some of the Superstars that come to mind when you think of fresh faces getting a push.
This new report is good news for the fans who have been clamouring for the company to prominently feature emerging and deserving talents.
#2. Is Becky Lynch building towards a match against Stephanie McMahon?
Her act may have cooled down in recent months but Becky Lynch continues to be one of the biggest Superstars on the roster with a legitimate mainstream appeal.
'The Man' was included in a few 'This is SportsCenter' commercials which were tweeted out by Stephanie McMahon. McMahon captioned the tweet with the following: "'The Man' takes over ESPN! Watch Becky Lynch star in TWO of the newest #ThisIsSportsCenter commercials."
Lynch couldn't resist passing on the opportunity and seemingly called out Stephanie McMahon for a match with the following response:
Stephanie responded to Lynch's tweet by claiming that she may have targetted the wrong 'Boss'.
Stephanie has always been open to getting her hands dirty inside the ring again if it was 'best for business', and a match against Lynch has money-making bout written all over it.
Lynch and McMahon have had their issues as well in the past, most notably during the build-up to the Triple Threat WrestleMania main event between herself, Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey. If you'd recall, Stephanie suspended Lynch for not getting the required medical clearance.
Lynch will defend the RAW Women's title against Sasha Banks at the Clash of Champions PPV on September 15th. While the feud between Lynch and Banks is expected to be an extended programme, Stephanie taking on Lynch is quite a possibility somewhere down the line.
WWE has been contemplating having another Evolution PPV this year, as per Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue, and this special contest could easily feature at the event.
#3. Presentation of the upcoming Draft
As reported extensively in the past few days, WWE will have another Draft in the second week of October.
The first episode of the Draft will take place on the October 11th episode of SmackDown and the second will take place on the 14th October edition of RAW.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the WWE intends on presenting the event as a "legitimate sports draft”, which we assume, would have been one of the requirements of the executives at FOX.
It's also interesting to note that WWE will be breaking an old tradition with this year's Draft. The Draft usually begins on RAW and ends on SmackDown but that won't be the case this year. WWE wants the fans to eliminate the 'b-show' tag of SmackDown and presenting the first round of the Draft on the blue brand will be done as a means to achieve that objective.
Also, NXT Superstars are expected to be a part of the Draft, which could serve as the platform for a few exciting call-ups.
#4. 205 Live to be the third hour of SmackDown Live
SmackDown will no longer be the b-show once it moves to FOX starting October 4th. A shift of this magnitude calls for big-time changes and one of that could see WWE extend the show to three hours.
One of the best aspects of SmackDown has been its easily digestible 2-hour runtime, but that could all change soon.
Dave Meltzer revealed on the Wrestling Observer Radio that 205 Live could end up being the third hour of SmackDown on FOX Sports 1. The Cruiserweight show has sadly been one of WWE's failed projects and its future has always been a topic of intense discussion.
Meltzer stated, however, that the belief within the television industry is that 205 Live could be integrated as part of WWE's catalogue on FOX. While this has not been announced as of yet, that seems to be the direction WWE is heading towards.
There has been constant speculation about WWE wanting to pull the plug on 205 Live, however, that would be a bit harsh considering it has consistently been a solid show.
#5. Has Vince McMahon forgotten about Shane McMahon?
Ever since losing to Kevin Owens at SummerSlam, Shane McMahon has quietly moved away from the spotlight.
So, where is Shane O' Mac? Dave Meltzer revealed the possible reason behind McMahon's disappearance on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer stated, that at the moment, the writers just don't have anything for the McMahon scion. He added that as Vine McMahon is the man behind the scripts of SmackDown in recent weeks, there is a possibility that the WWE boss may have forgotten about his own son's angle on TV.
However, the reality is that Shane has actually been on Jury duty.
#6. Vince McMahon wants more creativity from his writers
As mentioned earlier, Vince McMahon has been very hands-on with the scripts of RAW and specifically with SmackDown Live in recent weeks.
Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez revealed on the Wrestling Observer Live that the WWE had a big RAW creative meeting which went on for a majority of the day.
During the meeting, Vince McMahon reportedly told the writers to be as creative as they can for next Monday's episode, which would be the first RAW to be held at the MSG in nearly ten years.
The upcoming episode of RAW will be the go-home show for Clash of Champions which will also see a special appearance of Stone Cold Steve Austin, who will be the moderator of the contract signing between Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins.
#7. Nikki Bella wishes to wrestle again
Countless health-related complications may have forced Nikki Bella to announce her retirement, but the former 2-time Divas Champion still harbors hopes of wrestling again.
Bella posted a video of herself in her in-ring attire on Twitter and claimed that she "feels the need to come out of retirement."
I feel like I need to come out of retirement. Well, I wish. We all know why I can't, but hopefully one day.
Bella was forced to call time on her in-ring career due to a herniated disc and a cyst in her brain. However, she is still optimistic about a potential return and we can't argue against the desire. There have been Superstars in the past who have returned to wrestle again despite injuries holding them down for years, namely Daniel Bryan, and we just can't rule out Bella from doing the same.
Nikki Bella last wrestled at the Evolution PPV in October last year and lost to Ronda Rousey. She has kept herself busy by spearheading many projects outside WWE since her retirement.
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