WWE Rumor Roundup - Triple H's plan for Brock Lesnar rejected, Roman Reigns' future, 2 Superstars leaving - 31st January 2020

A very hectic week in pro wrestling finally came to an end.

WWE wrapped up the Royal Rumble PPV as well as the subsequent episodes of RAW, SmackDown and NXT, and we are now officially on the Road to WrestleMania.

As expected, there are tons of rumors that are circulating regarding the Rumble and WWE's plans for 'Mania.

There is a lot of talk about which match would main event the show. There was a revelation made about WWE going back to an older plan of giving a deserving Superstar a world title push. We also have a WrestleMania update regarding Roman Reigns.

Triple H's Royal Rumble pitch was also reportedly turned down by the WWE. Among all the speculation today, the biggest of the lot is about two former Champions asking for their release from the company.

As you may have figured, there's a lot to cover in today's edition of Sportskeeda's WWE Rumor Roundup.

---

#6 Triple H's Royal Rumble pitch rejected

NXT Superstars had a decent showing at the Royal Rumble. It may not have been as good as the Survivor Series show but the talents from the Black and Gold brand made their presence felt and were given moments to shine.

Expectedly enough, Triple H had a big say in which talents made the cut.

As revealed by WWE Insider Tom Colohue on Sportskeeda's Dropkick DiSKussions podcast with host Korey Gunz, Triple H pitched Matt Riddle's name forward as one of the NXT representatives in the Royal Rumble match.

The Game even pushed for a potential confrontation between Riddle and Lesnar, however, that idea was sadly turned down, possibly due to the real verbal altercation that ensued between the two Superstars backstage at the PPV.

Tom revealed:

"I do know Triple H put Matt Riddle name's forward as someone who should be in the Royal Rumble and he put his name forward with the intent, hope I should say, of having some kind of an encounter with Brock Lesnar. The WWE said yeah, we will have Matt Riddle, and then at some point, they said 'okay, we're not going to have him with Brock Lesnar'.

"It may be down to that backstage altercation. I personally find it unlikely, because the way they plan these matches out, it's very hard to make that last-minute a change. However, if you look at the list and as you recall I have it right here, there are a number of people there who could have been moved last-minute in place of Matt Riddle. And he was only in the match for 41 seconds. It's very hard to tell.

"When it comes to the idea of him being punished, it's not really something that they do, when it comes to that, if he was going to be punished, they would have taken him out of the Rumble and they would have put Otis back in."

#5 The Revival want out

We've been down this road before.

As reported first by Bryan Alvarez on the Wrestling Observer Live, The Revival asked for their release again last week and they are desperate to leave.

Cassidy Haynes of BodySlam.net confirmed Alvarez's report and added that Scott Wilder and Dash Dawson turned down a deal worth $700K a year.

"I can confirm Alvarez’s report that The Revival did ask for their releases from the company. I can also report that The Revival were offered another huge deal, which was said to be higher than the $700k per year that The Club were given, which The Revival again turned down. I was told that the two are “just ready to go.”

The former tag team Champions were offered fewer dates and more money, however, they have decided to leave and WWE may be left with no option but to let them go.

---

#4 Roman Reigns' immediate future and WrestleMania plan

Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar seems certain to main event WrestleMania 36, however, WWE is also expected to heavily push another match that has been in the works for almost a year.

Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue revealed on the latest Dropkick DiSKussions episode that the plan to have Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns has been in the works for a very long time.

While many plans regarding the 'Mania card have changed since then, WWE has been consistent with their intention to have Reigns vs. The Fiend.

Tom stated the following about the match:

"There has been so much going on but the idea of Wyatt vs. Reigns has been the one consistent for a year. That's been the one consistent thing they wanted to do. Right after WrestleMania last year, Bray Wyatt started getting advertised, and it caught fire. Everything he did caught fire. He has been incredibly popular for the entirety of 2019. People have been begging for him to get more and more chances. The idea is that the Fiend could main event WrestleMania and potentially beat Roman Reigns.

"Advertisement I've been told for a couple of months, that's the match they are looking for, that's the match they want to do, and that is a win they want as well. I believed until this Royal Rumble that WrestleMania would end with The Fiend standing over Roman Reigns' body, holding the championship. Now you're telling me, after all that Bray Wyatt's done, let's put him in the mid-card and keep him out of the main event. And the worst part is that you're telling me this because Drew McIntyre genuinely deserves this as well. This is a genuine contender."

The current direction as hinted on TV is to have Lesnar vs. McIntyre to headline WrestleMania. Regarding Reigns, as Tom had reported earlier, there is a big chance that WWE books him to lose to the Fiend at the Show of Shows as the company wants Wyatt to have a lengthy reign with the Universal Championship.

In that case, the Big Dog's future after 'Mania could revolve around trying to win the Universal title from The Fiend and there is no guarantee that it may happen considering WWE's faith in Wyatt's project.

#3 Shane McMahon's backstage role at Royal Rumble

Shane McMahon has not been seen on WWE TV for a very long time but that doesn't mean he isn't contributing to the company.

As revealed by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Shane O'Mac was one of the producers of the men's Royal Rumble match. Abyss, James Noble and Lance Storm were also responsible in putting the match together. The decision to book McIntyre to win and the finishing sequence were made by Vince McMahon.

Meltzer also revealed the producers of the Women's Royal Rumble match.

Here's what he noted in the Newsletter:

"The men’s Rumble was put together by Shane McMahon, James Gibson (Noble), Chris Park (Abyss) and Lance Evers (Storm) with input by Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar regarding the early part of the match. Vince McMahon was heavily involved in the finishing sequence and not only made the final call on McIntyre winning but also the sequence and his eliminating Reigns last.

"The women’s Rumble was put together by Michael Seitz (Hayes), T.J. Wilson (Tyson Kidd), Adam Pearce, Mickie James and Paul Levesque had input the day of the show to help out and made it flow better."

#2 How much money did AEW offer Edge?

Edge's in-ring comeback is one of the best things to have happened in a very long time. His return at the Royal Rumble will be remembered for years and the fans are truly excited to witness the Rated-R Superstar in a WWE ring for the next three years.

However, Edge was really close to signing with AEW last year. WWE's rivals reportedly offered Edge $3 million per year to wrestle a few matches and to also take up a backstage role.

Dave Meltzer opened up on Edge's new WWE deal in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Edge had talks with WWE and told Vince McMahon's company about the AEW deal. WWE offered him a $3 million a year contract, similar to AEW's offer. The 11-time WWE Champion did some smart business and got a wholesome deal from WWE by using AEW's proposed deal as leverage.

Meltzer also stated that Edge is expected to wrestle more dates and that's great news.

Here's what Meltzer revealed in the WON:

"He wouldn’t have been allowed to do that spear at SummerSlam if he wasn’t cleared. This all dates back to last summer when AEW made Edge a major offer to wrestle a few matches per year. Edge used that offer, which he told WWE was for $3 million per year and he would start when the company got television as his leverage, to get the same deal with WWE. So that was his leverage to get one of the highest deals in WWE history.

"The reports were out that his deal was for five matches and 25 television shows per year, but we are told that the money figure is correct but the date numbers are not accurate and that there are more matches and dates involved in the deal. The deal is far less than people like Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg have gotten, since Goldberg earned $2 million just for doing his match with Undertaker."

#1 The original plan for Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre is on top of the world right now as he prepares for a main event showdown against Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36.

The plan originally, however, was to push McIntyre much earlier. Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue had revealed back in 2019 that McIntyre was planned to win the King of the Ring tournament and get a world title push. The plan was nixed after the Scottish Psychopath suffered an illness before the tournament.

The WWE thankfully went back to the initial creative plan and are now all behind McIntyre.

On Sportskeeda's Dropkick DiSKussions, Tom spoke about his earlier report and also opened up about the decision to push McIntyre against Lesnar:

"It was clearly a last-minute decision and it’s something Paul Heyman has been pushing for a long time. He believes in Drew McIntyre. We’ve seen the changes been made, we’ve seen that they want to market Drew to particularly the UK crowd, BT Sport move is definitely is something that worked out, and I also reported at the time of the King of the Ring tournament that a big push and match was coming Drew McIntyre’s way but it wasn’t there because of an injury he had at that time or illness.

"I think it was a sickness of some sort. So they have come back around, the opportunity is still there and they have taken it. I’m very pleasantly surprised and I’m looking forward to what comes next."