WWE Rumor Roundup: Details on a 'huge' merchandise selling star's surprising release, Megastar to return and face Roman Reigns, Major plan nixed for former champion?
Welcome to another edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup, where we try and bring the biggest rumors and stories from the world of sports entertainment. In today's edition, we will take a look at some big stories related to names like Roman Reigns, Riddle and Bray Wyatt.
As reported previously, Reigns has signed a new contract which allows him to work fewer dates. He wasn't a part of the Hell in a Cell show, and it seems that he will also miss the upcoming Money in the Bank premium live event for which he was initially advertised. He will, however, face a WWE legend at SummerSlam.
3) WWE Universal Championship match plans for Riddle nixed?
Rumors suggested that WWE was planning to have Riddle face Roman Reigns at Money in the Bank. However, Sports Illustrated revealed that Reigns is no longer advertised for the show. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer confirmed the report and stated that The Tribal Chief will no longer compete at WWE's next Premium Live Event.
"The expected slate of opponents for Reigns hasn’t changed, but he currently is no longer scheduled to work Money in the Bank,'' said Justin Barrasso of SI
He also said that the match between Riddle and Reigns is off for MITB. Even if the two do face each other, they will be in a television match and will more than likely not be for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
2) Randy Orton set to face Roman Reigns at SummerSlam
Dave Meltzer stated on Wrestling Observer Radio that Roman Reigns' match against Randy Orton is set for SummerSlam. Orton has been out of action ever since The Bloodline attacked him brutally following his and Riddle's match against The Usos. The Viper will be returning ahead of SummerSlam on July 30th:
''He may do a television match before then. If he wrestles Riddle, it'll be on TV. It won't be on pay-per-view. At least that's the plan right now. The plan is still Orton for July 30th."
Riddle could've been a good opponent for Reigns at MITB. It would have elevated The Original Bro while giving Reigns a clean win. Even though the company seemingly isn't going in that direction, Orton vs Reigns is still set for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
1) Bray Wyatt was released by WWE because of some specific reasons
Dave Meltzer spoke about former Universal Champion Bray Wyatt on Wrestling Observer Radio. He stated that Wyatt's release in 2021 came as a major surprise for everyone because he was one of the top merchandise sellers. The jounalist stated that his release was due to a specific reason that he can't share. It did not have anything to do with his performance as a merch seller.
“You can make the argument for Bray Wyatt becoming a big star and he was absolutely a huge merchandise seller.'' noted Meltzer
On his release:
''He was fired for reasons having nothing to do with being over or not over. He was not fired having to do with his gimmick. He was fired having to do with things that I probably shouldn’t talk about, so I’m not going to, to start a can of worms. But it’s got nothing to do with that. He had health issues, also, as far as being kept out of action and everything like that,'' said Meltzer
He also revealed that Wyatt was seen as a liability by some backstage. It was thought that his Fiend character did more harm than good to everybody that he worked with.