WWE Rumor Review: Backstage heat on John Cena, Brock Lesnar's return, Plans for released star
Welcome to this week's edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE Rumor Review. Here, we will take a look at rumors regarding WWE from a few months ago and see how they played out.
This time around, we will review some plans from May 2021 for the return of fans in the summer, including the location for SummerSlam. This also features a slight issue the company may have had with John Cena before his big return.
WWE had ideas in mind for Aleister Black, who is now in AEW. We also recall the original reports about when Brock Lesnar would come back following his hiatus. So, without further ado, let's put on our hindsight glasses. Here are some of the top rumors from May and how well they did.
#5 WWE had plans for Aleister Black and the RAW roster
BLXCK MASS!!! 😱
#SmackDown @WWEAleister https://t.co/oibuAdSTfc
Aleister Black was absent from WWE television for seven months before returning in a series of backstage vignettes. He finally appeared on the May 21st episode of SmackDown, costing Big E the Intercontinental Championship and starting a feud with him.
A week earlier, WrestleVotes had reported that Black was discussed to be moved over to RAW. The red brand needed fresh stars in the main event scene, with Randy Orton, Riddle, and AJ Styles in the tag team division. Damian Priest was also slated for a big opportunity on RAW.
There has been backstage chatter recently that the RAW roster needs some fresh faces. Two ideas I’ve heard talked about are Damien Priest getting a big opportunity & Aleister Black being moving over. Orton & AJ having tag team roles have left the top a bit weak.
Less than three weeks later, WWE released Black. Meanwhile, Priest did receive a push towards the United States Championship. He has been strongly booked since winning the title at SummerSlam. As for RAW's main event scene, WWE eventually moved Big E over from SmackDown.
The New Day member won the Money in the Bank contract and cashed in on Bobby Lashley in September to become WWE Champion. So, this rumor was partially true. RAW eventually got a fresh main eventer before the WWE Draft, and Damian Priest was pushed, but Aleister Black is completely out of the picture.