What is the story about?
Welcome
to the weekly Rumor Look Back, where we look at the rumors from six months ago and see which played out as originally stated. Let’s jump right to it.
- The Observer notes that Seth Rollins is scheduled for surgery and they won’t know the extent of his issues until the surgery actually happens. WWE hopes he can be back for WrestleMania but everyone is in a holding pattern right now.
- He made back just in time.
- On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer acknowledged there has been talk of a Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi match at the Tokyo Dome next year but “it’s not a done deal right now,” and there are plenty of political issues that could get in the way of it.
- That did not happen. It was Okada.
- Bodyslam.net claims it was Sami Zayn who made the call to drop the United States championship to Ilja Dragunov on SmackDown.
- I definitely heard more about rumors of him suggesting he win the WWE title than I did him discussing dropping this one.
- The Acclaimed reuniting was not originally the plan, says Fightful, but Max Caster getting over so well as a babyface seemed to change things quite a bit.
- Their reunion never had much traction. Max Caster hasn’t been on TV and Anthony Bowens has been trying to join the Opps.
- In his Fightful Select Q&A, Sean Ross Sapp said Chris Jericho has been off TV for no reason other than it was simply time for him to be off. Rumors have swirled of a Jericho return to WWE but Tony Khan would still love to have him back.
- He ended up back in AEW, months after everyone assumed he’d go to WWE.
- Per WOR, Toni Storm is being paired up with Mina Shirakawa with the idea they can add credibility to the AEW women’s tag team division.
- Toni is current out. We don’t have an official word on why, but there’s sure speculation.
- While discussing Jacob Fatu’s current dental issue that’s keeping him out of action in WWE, Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez said, “I believe he will be back maybe by Survivor Series weekend.”
- It was certainly later than that. (0/1)
- One top star in WWE told Fightful Select there has been an overreaction to the usage of AI in WWE creative, noting that, “Michael Hayes, Ed Koskey and Paul Heyman are not AI.”
- How do we know that?
- Fightful also mentioned that “WWE creative has had AI software for years, but it’s barely used, and basically a glorified creative assistant.” It organizes things on the production side and is also used to “eliminate background noise from certain shots.”
- I generally have a distrust of AI but know there are certain tasks it could be useful for. And I know it’s not going anywhere.
- Alvarez indicated that the finish of AEW WrestleDream’s main event with Jon Moxley quitting was rushed because “they were completely out of time.”
- That’s unfortunate, though I don’t specifically recall that match feeling rushed. It received 25 minutes (and there are AEW main events that certainly go longer, but how much more did we need to see Moxley torture Darby before the finish) and Manolo didn’t mention the feeling of it being rushed in his recap.
- He said there was also some concern about the Missouri pro wrestling commission stopping the match after Darby Allin “sliced up his arm.”
- I don’t think much about different state committees but they exist and very occasionally we hear about how they affect things.
- The Wrestling Observer Newsletter claims that Triple H reacted to negative reviews of Wrestlepalooza at a production meeting by saying, “We work them (the fans). They don’t work us.”
- The person who wrote the review for ESPN was denied press credentials for WrestleMania. Triple H certainly sounds a guy who does not receive criticism well.
- PW Insider notes that former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins is a guest coach at the WWE Performance Center this week, and former ECW star Jazz was a guest coach last week.
- We’ve had a couple rumors about TJP as a coach at times, but it could be all about this one visit.
- WWE and Netflix are considering moving Raw’s start time to 7pm Eastern again “for a couple of December and January episodes”, reports Fightful Select. The site cautions “nothing is for sure,“ though.
- Everything was at 8 PM but the two shows that went live in Europe that started in the afternoon in the States.
- Some in WWE are still “pushing” for Austin Theory to remain in creative plans despite Seth Rollins’ injury. That per WrestleVotes, which also confirmed there were discussions about Theory joining The Vision prior to Rollins getting hurt, and that Theory “still has internal support moving forward to reappear on TV in a significant manner.”
- He did join the Vision. I still don’t see it in him and this run isn’t changing my mind about it. Maybe it’s just been too long watching Theory either as the loser in the team with Waller or the singles act they push that never connected, but it will probably take a lot for me to buy into him. It can surely happen, but this Vision run isn’t doing it.
- On his subscription X/Twitter, Bryan Alvarez said that Erik and Xavier Woods weren’t in Raw’s battle royal like their tag partners because of previously planned vacations (Woods had already posted that he was in Italy).
- I like to think they were on vacation together in Italy.
- Santos Escobar is scheduled to be at next Monday’s Raw in Anaheim, according to PW Insider. It would be his first appearance since re-signing after his contract briefly expired earlier this month.
- He was not on that sure. He was released on Friday. (0/1)
- Though he’s reportedly dealing with a one-year WWE non-compete, Andrade is still being advertised for a previously announced indie match against Donovan Dijak in Maine next Saturday.
- That match did not happen. He did not have a one year non-compete though.
- Internal documents at WWE say NXT’s Deadline PLE will be Dec. 6 in San Antonio, per Fightful Select.
- Accurate on date & time. (2/2)
- Fightful also reported that Mustafa Ali’s TNA contract expires at the end of this year, and a source told the site Ali is “keeping his options open”.
- He’s still with them, re-signing in January. (1/1)
- Wrestlenomics reports WWE ticket prices have nearly doubled since TKO took control of the brand in Sept. 2023. Despite the fact tickets for sports and other entertainment options haven’t risen similarly over the same period, demand for WWE tickets remains high. That seems to be due to both sustained popularity, and scarcity created by a reduced event schedule.
- That demand soon plummeted when some weak creative and a return to Vegas had fans less interested in paying with their first born child to watch scripted fighting.
- AEW is hoping Swerve Strickland can make a “winter return” if his rehab from knee surgery stays on track, says Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp.
- He returned in December. (1/1)
- GCW owner Bret Lauderdale shared that his former champion, deathmatch wrestler Nick Gage, “will not be attending any shows for the forseeable future.” Gage “is currently in treatment (and has been for several weeks) and plans to stay indefinitely.” Lauderdale added that any promoters for dates Gage missed “will be made whole as soon as possible”, and that Gage will provide an update “when the time is right”.
- He’s been wrestling since March. Hopefully he is doing well.
- Braun Strowman told The Kliq’s Baby Huey he’ll return to wrestling someday, but is currently healing up and too busy with movie and TV projects. Strowman said he’s “really focused right now on the food space”.
- His food show got renewed for a second season.
- Big Boom AJ’s partner at Full Gear will be the man he faced at last year’s edition of that PPV, QT Marshall. That from Wrestling Observer Radio
- Accurate. (1/1)
- For what it’s worth, Harvard-educated lawyer and former WWE Superstar David Otunga has a theory he admits is “wild”: that WWE is enforcing Andrade’s non-compete “to get to AEW to try to put pressure on them to then allow Edge [Adam Copeland] to come back to WWE to battle John Cena one last time?”
- I really don’t think that was the case.
- Meanwhile, Andrade is out here shooting down rumors he’s in “some Mexican cartel business or nationwide crime scheme”. Andrade told that particular follower “tranquilo”, and asked that “everyone please stop making things up.”
- I didn’t think he was in a nationwide crime scheme until he mentioned it.
- PW Insider says the expectation within WWE is that Liv Morgan should be cleared to return by early 2026. There is some speculation that she may return at Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, because she is very popular over there. The company is “very excited” about her return, which may even happen before then.
- It was in November. Not in the Rumble but by 2026. (1/2)
- Insider also claims there is a belief within some wrestling circles in Mexico that WWE is enforcing Andrade’s one year non-compete clause because they want to bring him back.
- They did not bring him back.
- D-Von Dudley said this to Video Gamer about the way things are run in AEW: “A lot of the talent in AEW have the same frustration that I see. They just wish that certain people wouldn’t be calling the shots and that Tony [Khan] would take more control, but yet give it to somebody that knows what they’re doing.”
- He’s never worked there but I guess knows some folks who have.
- Jelly Roll told Chris Van Vliet that WWE’s original plan called for him to win at SummerSlam. When he talked to Triple H about changing that plan because he wanted to lose his in-ring debut, Triple H claimed that Floyd Mayweather also wanted to lose against the Big Show at WrestleMania 24.
- Mayweather needed to win that match.
- Insider says WWE and Piper Niven are “trying to determine the best course of action for treatment for a neck issue. It’s not something that should be rushed and as we saw with Kevin Owens, it takes time to get that diagnosis.”
- She’s still out, but hopefully generally healthy.
- For whatever it’s worth, Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer speculated that AEW will have a Blood & Guts match soon between the Death Riders and The Conglomeration & Darby Allin.
- Accurate. (1/1)
- Former WWE writer Nick Manfredini told Freddie Prinze Jr. that he heard Charles Manson wanted to meet Bray Wyatt after watching some of his WWE promos. Vince McMahon or Triple H “immediately squashed” the idea of shooting a WWE Network special with Charles Manson when it was presented to them.
- Yeah, that’s a smart move. I bet Bray would have done it.
- Even though injuries to Seth Rollins and Jacob Fatu led some people to think the men’s War Games match will be Wyatt Sicks vs. MFT, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter says WWE is sticking with the plan to book “a Punk & Reigns team against The Vision-led team” inside the double cage at Survivor Series.
- That MFT/Wyatt Sicks feud was never close to worthy of a WarGames match. (1/1)
- Speaking of those injuries, the Observer says Rollins will miss “a minimum of several months” following surgery, while Fatu is “expected back before the end of the year” due to dental work.
- Rollins missed 4-5 months. Fatu was back in 2026. (1/2)
- Per WON, WWE already has a plan in place for “how and when” Bron Breakker will win the world championship. They want to do it at a bigger show than Saturday Night’s Main Event. With that in mind, he was never going to win the number one contender’s Battle Royal on Raw. WWE kept him out of the match to avoid making him look weak by being eliminated like just another guy on the roster.
- I wonder when that’s going to be. This year?
- Netflix’s banner for the November 17 episode of Raw features AJ Lee. Some people think this means she will return to WWE by that event, which is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- AJ returned that night to help Maxxxine Dupri win the intercontinental champion. (1/1)
- The latest odds at BetOnline indicate that Ricky Saints, The Hardys, and Jacy Jayne will win their respective matches tonight at NXT Halloween Havoc.
- Tatem Paxley and Dark State won the matches involving Jacy & the Hardys. Saints did retain. (1/3)
- One indie promoter told F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer that Mercedes Mone charged “$25,000 per appearance,” so the promoter turned her down. Meltzer noted that it’s probably “people who she isn’t interested in working for who get that quote,” and there are likely “different deals cut elsewhere.”
- That makes sense. She has every right to set her price.
- Meltzer notes that Andrade is basically “on ice until WWE releases him, and they can hold him for one year unless he tries to sue over it.” Furthermore, Andrade is “not getting a paycheck” until he’s released.
- He was only out a few months thankfully.
- For whatever it’s worth, Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez is concerned that Penelope Ford may have broken her arm or dislocated her elbow after a bad landing on a moonsault during her match on this week’s AEW Dynamite.
- Looks like a UCL injury, which she recovered quickly from only to injure her ankle on another moonsault in February. Sounds like that injury isn’t too bad but she also hasn’t been back since. (1/1)
This week: 12/18 – 67%
Overall: 6,244/10,636 – 58.7%
Have a great week, everyone!
