4 Wrestling Rumors we hope are true & 3 we hope aren't: Popular star quietly turns face after 11 months, WWE wants Roman Reigns to face undefeated champion
Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true, and those we hope aren't.
While the rumor mill has been buzzing with reports on Bray Wyatt's return to wrestling, there won't be too much of that in this edition. There will, however, be a report on the interesting reason why he was fired by Vince McMahon in the first place.
This week's rumors include reports of a face turn, major plans for Roman Reigns in the future, two top legends returning to WWE very soon, a former world champion being pulled out due to food poisoning, and more. Let's begin:
#4. Hope is true: A change in Shotzi's status on SmackDown
Shotzi hasn't achieved too much on the WWE main roster. It isn't her fault, as she has been sparsely utilized since her debut. However, things could change very soon. On the September 16th episode of SmackDown, she came to the aid of Raquel Rodriguez, seemingly cementing a character change.
According to Fightful Select, WWE has internally listed Shotzi as a babyface following her alliance with Raquel Rodriguez on the September 16th episode of SmackDown.
We hope this is true because it's a free and new direction for Shotzi, who has great potential as a babyface.
#3. Hope isn't true: Major plans for Roman Reigns to face an undefeated champion?
Roman Reigns has run through nearly every challenger imaginable during his 750+ days as the Universal Champion. He has now entered the record books and has had the longest and most dominant world title reign of the 21st century in WWE.
Logan Paul is next in line for Reigns, but before we get to that, WWE may already be planning something in the future for The Tribal Chief.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that WWE wants Roman Reigns to face Tyson Fury at some point down the line (via CSS):
"Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer indicated that WWE wants to book Roman Reigns vs. Tyson Fury at some point down the line."
We hope this isn't true because Tyson Fury isn't as established as Logan Paul is in the world of wrestling, which is why it isn't a good matchup just yet.
#3. Hope is true: The reason why Logan Paul is taking on Roman Reigns at Saudi Arabia
It’s official. I’m taking on the face of @WWE in Saudi Arabia on November 5 https://t.co/JrSnPHeroj
We understand how it would sound hypocritical to say that Roman Reigns vs. Tyson Fury isn't a good direction while Reigns vs. Logan Paul is. However, there is a lot of context to be put in place, and one of the major metrics is popularity.
Logan Paul is a younger star who is popular among younger audiences and is more marketable as well. The reason behind his match against Roman Reigns has now been reported.
Dave Meltzer of WON revealed that Logan Paul is a big deal in Saudi Arabia and ticket sales have nothing to do with it:
"He's a big deal in Saudi Arabia," Meltzer said. "He's a big deal to the Saudi Arabian prince and that's the whole thing of these shows. Tickets in Saudi Arabia mean nothing. It's not even part of the game. Of course, TV numbers whatever. If he draws younger viewers, that's good but it's not a play for TV ratings. It is a play because the prince wants celebrity fights in Saudi Arabia to build the name in the media of Saudi Arabia and Logan Paul will get more of the type of press that Saudi Arabia is looking for than Kevin Owens or Seth Rollins." [H/T- Wrestlingnews.co]
We hope this is true because it's a good business decision to have a marketable star like Logan Paul headline a show which has little to no consequences in overall storylines in the year.
#2. Hope isn't true: The possible reason why Vince McMahon fired Bray Wyatt from WWE
Vince McMahon was cited as the man responsible for the mass releases that happened in 2020 and 2021. They were all cited as "budget" cuts and the company got a lot of flak for it.
The most shocking release of them all was undoubtedly the three-time World Champion Bray Wyatt, many of whom believed to be a "lifer" in the company. However, there were reports around the time of McMahon growing sour on Wyatt on a personal level.
Bryan Alvarez revealed on Wrestling Observer Live that Bray Wyatt had issues with being cleared, which is why he was fired by Vince McMahon:
"According to Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez, at the time when Bray Wyatt was fired by WWE last year, he had 'an issue with being cleared' to compete. That issue was a factor in WWE’s decision to release him. Alvarez went on to say that he doesn’t know if the issue has ever been resolved. [via Cagesideseats)
We hope this isn't true because it seemed to be the boiling point for Vince McMahon and a cover-up for other issues he may have had with Wyatt.
#2. Hope is true: Brock Lesnar to return to WWE soon?
Just @BrockLesnar doing #BrockLesnar things #SummerSlam https://t.co/dGtG8zjRp6
Brock Lesnar has had an incredible run in 2022 so far. On the very first day of the year, he became the WWE Champion, Lesnar then lost his title to Bobby Lashley at Royal Rumble. He would regain it a month later at the Elimination Chamber before headlining WrestleMania 38 and losing it again.
At SummerSlam 2022, he had an all-time classic main event as he lost to Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match to end their seven-year rivalry.
Since then, Lesnar hasn't made an appearance. But that is reportedly set to change soon. According to Xero News on Twitter, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar are both set to return to WWE soon:
"Seems people claiming only now they know about Goldberg for Saudi *cough* Goldberg will be on raw shortly to setup his match. Also [Brock] Lesnar will be back soon."
We hope this is true because Lesnar had an epic run in 2022 and the babyface cowboy persona was the best he had been in years.
#1. Hope isn't true: Drew McIntyre pulled out of live events due to food poisoning
Drew McIntyre is set to face Karrion Kross at Extreme Rules 2022 in a strap match. It will be a crucial point in their rivalry as McIntyre has to bounce back from his defeat to Roman Reigns, while Karrion Kross has to prove that he belongs in the main event with the top stars.
While the match doesn't seem to be at jeopardy, McIntyre isn't in the best condition right now. According to PWInsider, Drew McIntyre has reportedly been sick with food poisoning but still sonwed up to SmackDown anyway.
We hope this isn't true, but if it is, we fully respect McIntyre for being able to pull through and appear on SmackDown. Hopefully, he is well rested before Extreme Rules 2022.
#1. Hope is true: John Cena's status for WrestleMania 39
John Cena's WWE appearances have decreased over the years. There are now times when we are simply lucky to see him make a single appearance in a year, let alone a match.
This year, he appeared for the 20th anniversary of his debut in June, and he had a brief backstage confrontation with Austin Theory. Some speculated that it would lead to a match at SummerSlam, but Theory would face United States Champion Bobby Lashley instead. It led to speculation that Cena vs Theory could happen at WrestleMania 39.
James Gunn, the director of DC's Peacemaker, revealed that the filming of season two won't happen until the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will be around May 2023.
This could potentially be a good sign that John Cena might appear at WrestleMania 39, where some believe he will face