It was an eventful week in the professional wrestling world. WWE was busy building up to WrestleMania, and everything was going well for the promotion, but things turned upside down when private videos and photos of Paige, Xavier Woods, and Brad Maddox were released on the internet. The leak immediately became a major talking point, and the rumour mill was also filled with speculation related to the incident.
WWE’s plans for the SmackDown Women’s title, the future of The New Day and some other rumours also featured heavily on the internet in the past seven days. As always, we will list down the most notable ones and analyse how they could impact the WWE roster.
#5 Surprise inclusion for SmackDown Women’s title match
The SmackDown Women’s Championship found a new direction after Naomi was forced to relinquish the title. WWE decided to put the gold back on Alexa Bliss, and now, Natalya, Mickie James, and Becky Lynch have popped up as challengers for Bliss. The rumour roundup on Cageside Seats now suggests that Naomi could be back in the mix ahead of WrestleMania.
Naomi could be reintroduced as a surprise challenger for Bliss at WrestleMania, and if this is the case, WWE’s taking the title away from Naomi will go down as a complete waste of time. Naomi deserved to go into WrestleMania as the champion but unfortunately, it is not happening.
#4 Goldberg’s run coming to an end?
Reigning WWE Universal Champion Goldberg could be on his way out of WWE. According to WrestlingInc, Goldberg only has one more Raw appearance left on his current WWE contract, and he is scheduled to appear for the WrestleMania go-home show at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Goldberg will face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the Universal title, and if WWE does not extend the contract, it could be his last appearance in some time. This also indicates that Goldberg will drop the title to Lesnar at WrestleMania. This booking also goes hand in hand with the rumoured Roman Reigns vs. Lesnar match for WrestleMania 34.
#3 Seth Rollins is cleared for in-ring work
The situation regarding Seth Rollins has been puzzling the fans. Rollins was seen struggling with an injury, but at the same time, WWE was building up a match between Rollins and Triple H for WrestleMania.
Last week on Raw, Rollins got physical with Triple H, and according to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, Rollins is cleared to do basic work even if he is restricted from working a whole match.
With still a couple of weeks left for WrestleMania, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if Rollins gets cleared to work with Triple H at the pay-per-view. WWE, however, should take special care to preserve him for the big match rather than risking him on weekly shows.
#2 NXT plans for Lana
The wrestling aspirations of Lana could get a huge boost soon. Cageside Seats suggests that Lana could focus on wrestling in NXT while Rusev is out of action. Rusev has undergone surgery for his injured shoulder and was written off television after a one-sided defeat against Big Show at Fastlane.
With Rusev away, sending Lana down to NXT would be an excellent way to groom her. Lana could work on her wrestling skills, and at the same time, NXT would benefit from her star power. A few months back, there were rumours about WWE wanting to build Lana as the next big female superstar and her rumoured spell in NXT will have a huge impact.
#1 The New Day heading to SmackDown?
The leaked video of Xavier Woods has put The New Day in an awkward situation. The fate of the stable is not clear as of now, but rumours on Cageside Seats claim that The New Day could be heading to SmackDown. The talk about trading superstars between SmackDown and Raw have been relevant for some time now.
Roman Reigns and AJ Styles were the prominent names involved in the speculation, but now, New Day has entered into the picture as well. New Day moving to SmackDown does open up a lot of possibilities. While it won’t go into the books as a punishment, a refreshing change could be good for everyone.
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