5 Top WWE rumors from this week: Plans for the winner of Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania pitches for Big E and Seth Rollins (March 12th, 2022)
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.
As expected, a ton of WrestleMania-related rumors came up this week including the plans for the winner of the "championship unification" match between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. We also have reports on the original plans and pitches for the WrestleMania opponents of Big E and Seth Rollins.
Dolph Ziggler shocked the world by capturing the NXT Championship this past week and we now have reports on how his run as the champion could go. Also, WWE has seemingly found a superstar who could be booked as "another Brock Lesnar".
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top rumors from this past week. Be sure to let us know your thoughts and reactions to these in the comments section below.
#5 Plans for the winner of Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
The main event of Night Two of WrestleMania 38 will see Universal Champion Roman Reigns go one-on-one against WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. This is announced to be a "championship unification" match and hence the stakes are as high as they get.
According to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current plan for the winner of this match is to be referred to as the "Unified WWE Champion". There is no confirmation yet on whether the company plans to merge both the current world titles and introduce a new one or let the champion hold two titles.
#4 Original WrestleMania 38 plans for Big E
https://t.co/RQ0f4yafrK
Former WWE Champion Big E faced a horrifying injury this week on Friday Night SmackDown. The New Day took on the team of Sheamus and Ridge Holland and during the match, E had a scary landing while taking a belly-to-belly suplex from Holland at the ringside.
He was then taken to the back in a stretcher and later to a hospital for treatment. Big E soon took to Twitter to share a disheartening update that his neck is broken.
There is no clarification yet on how long he'll be out of action but he definitely won't be a part of WrestleMania 38. According to a report by Fightful Select, the company was planning a major six-man tag team match involving E at the event with The New Day taking on the team of Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch (fka Pete Dunne).
We here at Sportskeeda wish Big E a speedy recovery!
#3 Cody Rhodes pitched as Seth Rollins' WrestleMania opponent
With WrestleMania 38 merely three weeks away, most of the card is being finalized for the show. However, one major star who still doesn't have any match scheduled is Seth Rollins and there is a very good reason for that.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE plans to have Cody Rhodes debut and have a WrestleMania match against The Visionary.
"WWE had its creative set up for a secret debut of Rhodes imminently, as in the next week or so, regarding how he was debuting and a match that has been confirmed would be with Seth Rollins at WrestleMania," Meltzer noted.
Rhodes' exit from AEW and subsequent rumors of him returning to WWE came as a major shock. However, the status of his return is still unclear and it is to be seen what backup the company has in place for Seth Rollins if Cody Rhodes doesn't come back in time.
#2 Plans for Dolph Ziggler's NXT Championship run
Dolph Ziggler is your new NXT champion, i was not expecting this! #WWENXT https://t.co/3FNnIIUL3P
Former world champion Dolph Ziggler shocked the wrestling world by winning the NXT Championship this past week by defeating Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa at NXT Roadblock.
However, his title run might not last long as Dave Meltzer has reported that Ziggler is a transitional champion and the plan is for Breakker to win back the title at a bigger stage.
"Yeah but it’s only temporary, because I’ve seen people go ‘Oh my god they put the Title on a 41-year-old guy in developmental. It’s just to set up Bron Breakker winning the title on a big show,” Meltzer said.
Dolph Ziggler is a WWE veteran who has been with the company for over 15 years. It's great to see him win the NXT Championship and it is to be seen how long he can hold on to the title.
#1 Plans for top WWE RAW Superstar to be "another Brock Lesnar"
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is truly a "once in a lifetime" star who has dominated the world of professional wrestling for many years now. Part of that is, of course, his booking by WWE and the company is now reportedly planning to do something similar with a young RAW star.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson is set to be fast-tracked to the main roster. Not just that, the plans are for him to be "another Brock Lesnar".
Steveson signed with WWE last year in September and was officially drafted to Monday Night RAW a month later. However, he is yet to make his debut on the red brand.