WWE Top Five rumours of the week and analysis: 4th December 2017

It's been a pretty fantastic week in the world of pro wrestling news and although it might have seemed like a rather long one mostly due to the "after Thanksgiving blues" there was no shortage of exciting developments in WWE to keep fans on their toes.

Let's take a look at 5 stories that really caught our attention and they should probably be on your radar as well.

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1) The Woken Hardys Are Coming To WWE

This is going to be simply DELIGHTFUL! YAAAAS!

The Rumour:

The Broken Hardys are coming to WWE although The Wrestling Observer Newsletter speculated they'll most likely be "Woken" in WWE. Matt Hardy had a "breakdown" on Raw and he continues to drop some amazing hints that fans will be seeing plenty of fun from the Broken Universe very soon.

Anthem Sports released a statement indicating they were allowing their talent (both current and former) to keep their gimmicks which would bring The Broken Matt Hardy persona back to its rightful owner.

The Potential:

Although this might have primarily been an action on Impact Wrestling's part to save some face and get a bit of positive PR coming their way, it might result in something even bigger for WWE. After all, the Broken (or Woken) Universe is sure to be a ratings and merchandising goldmine.

The Fallout:

You can probably expect to see Matt Hardy breaking very slowly, then again with the sudden release of the rights back to The House Of Hardy this transition might happen even faster than some would ever think. He most certainly didn't cease his "breaking ways" at the recent Salt Lake City house show. Things will really heat up once Jeff Hardy returns from injury to possibly take back his Brother Nero persona so Matt will finally be able to proclaim those amazing words on WWE television: "Brother Nero, I knew you'd come!"

2) Jim Johnston released

What happened to the music man?

The Rumour:

WWE has not commented on the situation as of yet, but F4Wonline is reporting that long-time employee of the company Jim Johnston was released by WWE after his contract expired. Johnston was employed by WWE for over 30 years and is responsible for most of the iconic music fans remember from practically any era of WWE up to just a few years ago when CFO$ became WWE's resident house band.

The Potential:

With Johnston's exit from the company, there is a possibility that WWE will have all of his classic songs remad. This is likely evidenced with the recent remix of Kane's entrance music done by CFO$. It could be about royalties, and although Johnston might not be under contract any longer if his music is used, there could be a possibility he would still be owed money if his music is used. Therefore, if you notice a lot of Superstars with older theme songs receive an update soon this could be the reason why.

The Fallout:

WWE is always evolving and looking for fresh faces. They certainly received this when they hired a multi-genre house band like CFO$ who are capable of taking practically any musical direction. But only time will tell if more long-time WWE employees might see an exit from the company soon or later as well.

3) Dolph Ziggler is very unhappy

Could The Show Off take off?

The Rumour:

Dolph Ziggler has been showing off for the WWE Universe since he made his debut as a member of the Spirit Squad. He was sent back to OVW after his stint as a male cheerleader but soon re-emerged as the Ziggler we know today. Since then he's had a great career of stealing the show and winning titles although his career seems to be relegated to putting people over at this point.

Ziggler appeared on E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness where he expressed quite a bit of frustration with his current position in the company because he's not the top guy.

I hate that I’m not the champion. I hate that the show is not about me because that’s the mentality you should have if you’re in the business. If you’re the ‘Hey I want to be the opening guy who works for 10 years and saves a bunch of money,’ (guy) that’s great. But there’s a thousand other guys in the back that say, ‘I want to be the best. I want to main event WrestleMania, I want the show to be about me.'”

The Potential:

When Dolph Ziggler's WWE contract is finally up, who knows if he might just "future endeavour" himself to seek out is own destiny in the entertainment world. With his stand up comedy career coupled with other extracurricular offerings he might have on the table, who knows if Ziggler might find himself as a top guy elsewhere soon enough.

The Fallout:

Losing a guy like Dolph Ziggler might not seem like a huge deal but he has been a mainstay in WWE for quite a while now. It might be the kind of thing where you don't know what you've got until it's gone. After all, Ziggler has done a lot to make plenty of people look as good as possible in the ring for quite some time now and he's still able to perform in any environment you put him in. Let's cross our fingers on this one, because although it might be easy to hate him it's just because he plays his character so well on TV. The truth is Ziggler is still one of the best workers WWE has at their disposal.

4) NXT on USA Network

Could USA be NXT soon enough?

The Rumour:

WWE's developmental territory might just get a new audience very soon because PWInsider reported the USA Network website is listing that NXT will air on Wednesday, December 13th at 7 pm. WWE is actually scheduled to "take over" the USA Network that week so it might be a one-off deal. But then again, it could also always be an error on USA Networks' part although it might seem unlikely due to the fact that they haven't aired NXT before therefore it would take a pretty big slip up to do this kind of thing by accident.

The Potential:

If NXT were to get some major network airtime it could turn into the three-branded WWE that Vince McMahon has been dreaming about since he first thought about making WCW their own brand. Of course, a bad Buff Bagwell/Booker T match on Raw put a nix to those plans so WWE gave ECW a shot. But since ECW's cancellation in February 2010, this idea hasn't really been revisited.

The Fallout:

Although it might be great to have NXT on a bigger platform it would take a very special offering away from the WWE Network because their weekly NXT shows are a selling point to some of the more die-hard fans who can't wait to see what the guys and girls at the WWE Performance Center will be up to next.

5) Royal Rumble Uncertainty Continues

Let's try and get Finn Balor over...

The Rumour:

Finn Balor was said to be on the top of the list to face Brock Lesnar at The Royal Rumble for the Universal Championship. But that was until Vince McMahon apparently decided Balor wasn't over enough so he started burying him on Raw. This resulted in quite a social media backlash but McMahon still might have other plans. Dave Meltzer said things are still unclear in regards to what WWE will be doing during their huge January event. Lesnar might be still working the show. But at this point, he could very well be participating in a non-title match. Lesnar's next scheduled appearance is on December 18th, so fans will probably know soon enough which direction WWE will be going in regards to the Universal Title picture.

The Potential:

If Brock Lesnar is going to still wrestle at The Royal Rumble but it will be a non-title match this lends a lot of speculation to the idea fans could be seeing AJ Styles vs Brock Lesnar part two way before they ever thought. After all, Paul Heyman praised Styles in amazing fashion after their Survivor Series contest and it certainly wouldn't be the worst way to go about handing another Lesnar appearance on the Road To WrestleMania where all signs point to a match against Roman Reigns.

The Fallout:

Finn Balor losing this opportunity might not be the best thing for him but it could certainly give fans another thing to be passionate about. Therefore, if you're upset about the first-ever Universal Champion who never really lost his title in the first place being snubbed out of a title shot then you can always let WWE know. The best way to let WWE know how much you care is through your wallets so buy all the Balor merch you can, post on social media, and make everything he does on social media seem extraordinarily important. If fans get their way another hijacking of Raw could be in the cards only it will be on The Balor Club's behalf this time instead of Daniel Bryan's Yes Movement.