4 Wrestling Rumors we hope are true and 3 we hope aren't: Top WWE personality to exit due to Vince McMahon investigation, New backstage allegations against Bray Wyatt leading to his release
Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true, and those we hope aren't. It's been the most happening Newsweek in wrestling in years, with so many things happening that it was hard to keep up with.
The headlines have been dominated first by Sasha Banks' alleged and unconfirmed release from WWE and Vince McMahon stepping back as WWE Chairman and CEO. Just to be clear, we won't be including any Sasha Banks rumors in this edition, perhaps because there has been a lot of contradictory information floating around.
As for Vince McMahon's news, many of this week's rumors have focused on the fallout of the investigation, allegations, and incident. We will cover much of that, as well as news about injuries, releases, returns, and more.
#4. Hope is true: WWE personality's exit nearing due to Vince McMahon investigation
Starting with the Vince McMahon investigation, let's look at the fallout of what has happened. It hasn't been forgotten that McMahon isn't the only person involved in the controversial story involving alleged "hush-money" to another former employee. John Laurinaitis, the Head of Talent Relations, has also been involved. Laurinaitis is far from the most popular figure and doesn't seem to give a good impression based on varying backstage reports.
However, Laurinaitis' time in WWE might be up soon. According to Fightful Select, the expectation is that John Laurinaitis will be gone from WWE:
"Nearly unanimously, staff, employees and talent expect John Laurinaitis to be gone from the company, though one said "as long as Vince McMahon is around, he'll probably just come back unless he's Vince's latest scapegoat." Another talent said "From a creative aspect im hoping that things change but I doubt they will. From a business aspect I’m also hoping that things change, but also still doubt they will. Really the only thing that I think will actually change is Johnny will be fired which will be nice." [H/T - Fightful Select]
We hope this is true because they need a fresh face in the position of Head of Talent Relations, and Laurinaitis seems to have done more harm than good.
#3. Hope isn't true: New allegations against Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt's WWE release happened a year ago, and he is yet to resume his wrestling career. There was speculation about him joining AEW and IMPACT Wrestling, but other reports stated that his asking price was too high.
That's perhaps because he was reportedly earning a not-too-shabby salary of $4 million while working a lighter schedule than most superstars - especially after becoming 'The Fiend.' His release from WWE came as a big shock as he was viewed as a "lifer" for the company.
According to H. Jenkins, other backstage issues led to his WWE release. Sportskeeda's Matt Black wrote:
"According to H Jenkins of Ringside News, Bray Wyatt wasn't fired for any backstage behavior issues that have been reported elsewhere. The company reportedly chose to release Wyatt because “he had a health issue that was being addressed, still getting 4 million a year while off, and was uncommunicative and uncooperative with WWE regarding the way his health issue was being addressed by doctors.”
We hope this isn't true because it puts WWE's decision into a lot more perspective, even if there are things they did wrong.
#3. Hope is true: Reports on whether Brock Lesnar's return to WWE was due to Vince McMahon allegations
That feeling when @BrockLesnar's music hit on #SmackDown! https://t.co/Dr5324Mgdv
Brock Lesnar's return to WWE saw a rather underwhelming response, and understandably so. It was done to resume a feud against Roman Reigns, who he lost to in the main event of WrestleMania 38.
Be that as it may, it received a great response live, and the two are set to headline SummerSlam 2022 in a Last Man Standing match. There was immediate speculation that his return was a way of distracting fans from the allegations against Vince McMahon.
According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE having Brock Lesnar return was planned beforehand and wasn't reactionary to Vince McMahon's investigation:
"For those asking if this was reactionary after the Vince McMahon investigation, we're told that about three weeks ago plans were put in place for [Brock] Lesnar's return. This would have been well after the investigation started, but well before the story about it ran."
We hope this is true because it wouldn't have been a good way to deviate fans from the ongoing investigation.
#2. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon has seemingly given up on a RAW star
Despite stepping back from his role as CEO and Chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon will remain the head of creative. As a result, to get pushed, one still has to impress McMahon.
One popular RAW star who hasn't done so is Ciampa. He has been on the losing end of many matches and is also being used in Main Event. According to Wrestlingnews.co, Ciampa may not have the interest of McMahon. Sportskeeda's Divesh Merani wrote:
"As pointed out by WrestlingNews.co, The Blackheart lost matches to Ezekiel at this past weekend's WWE live events. These defeats further the notion that Vince McMahon has no significant plans for him."
We hope this isn't true because Ciampa is a great proven talent who can be utilized in an upper midcard role, if not higher.
#2. Hope is true: Paul Heyman to take a bigger creative role under Stephanie McMahon?
Paul Heyman was the head of creative for RAW during a portion of WWE's pandemic era. He reportedly had several disagreements with Vince McMahon, leading to his removal from the role. AJ Styles was one superstar who was vocally against Paul Heyman, blaming him for his friends Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows getting released.
However, things could change with Stephanie McMahon taking the (interim) throne in the company. According to Wade Keller of PWTorch, Heyman gets along well with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H and could reportedly get a bigger creative role:
"I could totally see this happening, Paul Heyman taking on a bigger role in creative," added the PWTorch journalist. "Paul Heyman gets along really well with Hunter and Stephanie. And so I wouldn't rule that possibility out either." (H/T: WrestlingNews.co)
We hope this is true because Paul Heyman has been known to focus on younger superstars and also has an eye for talent, as polarizing as he can be backstage.
#1. Hope isn't true: Randy Orton's injury worse than expected?
Per Fightful Select, WWE fears that Randy Orton could be sidelined for the rest of 2022
#randyorton #WWE https://t.co/QvRzeYN043
Randy Orton was expected to return soon so he could begin a SummerSlam program against Roman Reigns. However, that has since been scrapped, which is the reason why Brock Lesnar was called back.
But things aren't looking good for The Viper. His father, Bob Orton Jr., has revealed that he is dealing with nagging back issues. It was soon reported that he would have to undergo surgery.
According to a report from Fightful Select, Randy Orton's back issues have gotten "progressively worse," and he is expected to miss the rest of 2022. Sportskeeda's Shruti Sadbhav wrote:
"Things have taken a bad turn, and Orton could now be forced to undergo surgery. If that happens, The Viper may not return to the squared circle this year."
We hope this isn't true because it's a devastating loss for Randy Orton to be out of action for the rest of the year, especially when he was in such a prominent position with Riddle.
#1. Hope is true: News on whether Nick Khan is involved in the Vince McMahon investigation
In another big fallout from the Vince McMahon investigation, some fingers were unfairly pointed at WWE President Nick Khan. It's no secret that Khan is an unpopular figure among wrestling fans. He knows this and has even openly stated that he is willing to get blamed for anything bad that happens, and he doesn't want credit for anything good.
Dave Meltzer reported on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Khan is one of the names not involved in the investigation:
"Eight of the 12 members of the WWE Board of Directors started the investigation in April after first receiving the emails. Of the four who are not part of this investigation, three were Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Paul Levesque. It is believed the fourth person not involved is company President Nick Khan." (H/T: RSN)
We hope this is true because as unpopular as Nick Khan might be, it's an entirely different ball game to accuse him of alleged misconduct that he wasn't involved in.