5 Top WWE rumors from this week: Major name to leave WWE after Vince McMahon's retirement, Huge star set to return, Top SmackDown star legitimately injured
Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly rumor roundup, where we will take a look at the top rumors from the world of WWE.
The wrestling world witnessed a huge moment this past week as Vince McMahon announced his retirement. Reports have now suggested that a major name could be leaving WWE following Mr. McMahon's departure.
With SummerSlam merely a week away, a top SmackDown star has suffered a legitimate injury. Additionally, we also have a potential spoiler on who could be the one to dethrone Roman Reigns as the unified champion.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top WWE rumors from this past week. Be sure to comment down below and let us know your thoughts and reactions on the same.
#5 Roman Reigns to lose his titles to 10-time champion?
Roman Reigns is set to defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a massive "Last Man Standing" match at SummerSlam 2022 against Brock Lesnar. The company has been advertising this as the "last ever match" between these two megastars. The question is - can Brock Lesnar manage to finally defeat Reigns?
Reddit user u/BigUllie recently shared a photo of a new action figure of Brock Lesnar. The figure interestingly comes with both the WWE and Universal title belts. This has caught the attention of fans and raised speculation of this potentially being a spoiler of the company's plans to put the titles on Lesnar. It is to be seen what happens in the main event of SummerSlam 2022.
#4 Top SmackDown star legitimately injured
Friday Night SmackDown star Sami Zayn appeared on last week's episode of the blue brand with an arm sling. While fans initially considered it to be a storyline injury, reports have indicated that it is legit. It was reported on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that while the injury is real, it's not major and Sami Zayn would be able to wrestle in a few weeks.
"Zayn had his arm in a sling on Smackdown on 7/15. The injury is legit, but it's not major and they are hopeful of him being able to wrestle in a few weeks."
Sami Zayn has been heavily involved with The Bloodline on SmackDown over the last several weeks. He has even become an "honorary member" of the faction. Fans widely believe that this angle could ultimately lead to Zayn turning face and feuding with Roman Reigns.
#3 Hall of Famer to return to WWE with an old gimmick
Over the last few weeks, mysterious vignettes have been aired on RAW. While fans have been speculating about the mystery figure potentially being Bray Wyatt, it has been reported that the star in question is WWE Hall of Famer Edge.
Adding to that, Bryan Alvarez reported that the plan is for Edge to return with his old gimmick of the Rated-R Superstar. However, it's not clear whether he'll return as a heel or a face.
"I think they’ve already got Rated-R Superstar merch, so I’m pretty sure he’s returning as the Rated-R Superstar. Now what that means as a babyface [or as] a heel, I don’t know. I don’t think he’s coming back to Judgment Day. Especially because he left Judgment Day, he left because he didn’t want to be involved with anything spooky, but then they haven’t done anything spooky [with Judgment Day]," said Bryan Alvarez
Edge turned heel earlier this year and soon formed a massive stable called "The Judgment Day" with the likes of Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley. However, he was kicked out of his own faction last month after Finn Balor took control as leader. He has since been out of action but looks set to return.
#2 Goldberg to return to face top RAW star?
The legendary Goldberg hinted before his match with Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber earlier this year that he could be done with in-ring action. However, it is being speculated that Goldberg could return to feud with a top RAW star, Riddle.
A backstage video of Goldberg and Riddle at SummerSlam 2019 went viral when the former asked Riddle not to call him bro. The company has now uploaded the same video on their YouTube channel again, raising speculation of a future match between the two.
''Speculation about WWE booking Goldberg vs.MattRiddle intensified after a video of their awkward backstage confrontation from SummerSlam 2019 was posted on WWE’s YouTube channel yesterday.''
Riddle has notoriously taken several shots at Goldberg in the past and the two stars reportedly even had real-life heat. It'll be interesting to see if the company can convince Goldberg to return for a match against Riddle.
#1 Major name expected to leave WWE after Vince McMahon's retirement
Vince McMahon's retirement from WWE will surely shake things up a lot backstage. Fightful Select has reported that the talent are expecting that Kevin Dunn could be on his way out of the company following Vince's retirement. Dunn is currently serving as WWE's Executive Producer and Chief, Global Television Distribution. He has been with the company for almost three decades now.
Former Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis has reportedly already left the company recently following the "hush money" allegations. The report from Fightful further added that talent predicted that John Laurinaitis would also quit.
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