5 Wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: WWE concerned with Reigns, Top SummerSlam match canceled?

Welcome to yet another edition of "Wrestling rumors we hope are true and hope aren't true". If you haven't read the series before, we look at all the hottest wrestling rumours in the week and assess whether it would be good if they're true or not.

This week in the world of WWE, we saw the fallout from WWE Extreme Rules. As it turned out, it was quite an impressive PPV and delivered on practically every front, minus a few hiccups. But these small hiccups are always expected and aren't something to really complain about.

There was even AEW Fight for the Fallen that had happened a day prior and it naturally got good reviews as well, though there was one major concern coming out of the PPV, which we'll address soon in this article.

Let's take a look at the rumours we certainly hope are true and those we hope aren't!

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#5 Hope is true: A big change to The Miz's character?

The tides have turned

The Miz and Dolph Ziggler are all set to renew their old rivalry after nearly 3-years. While it seemed like they are on a collision course at SummerSlam, Dave Meltzer revealed on the Wrestling Observer Radio that there are no plans for them to compete at the biggest party of the summer.

The actual objective of this rivalry is to give The Miz a big character change. He's been a babyface since February or so and hasn't found much success, thanks in part to WWE booking him like a chump rather than a legitimate star.

Meltzer didn't specify whether The Miz is simply adding an edge to his babyface character or if they're planning to turn him heel again. It's clear from Dolph Ziggler's words that they're planning a change for The Miz.

#5 Hope isn't true: Sasha Banks pulled from another WWE appearance

How long must we wait?

You've probably heard all the rumors about what went down backstage at WrestleMania 35 as Sasha Banks was allegedly on the floor in protest, outraged about the fact that she and Bayley had to drop the Tag Team titles in their second defense.

Since all that happened, Sasha Banks was given time off and she has taken the biggest hiatus since her main roster debut in 2015. Sportskeeda's own Tom Colohue reported that she'll "slot right back in" and that WWE isn't concerned since they went with Bayley on SmackDown.

However, Sasha Banks was advertised for the July 22nd episode of Monday Night RAW. Since then, she has been pulled from the advertisement, with WWE emphasizing on two matches: Seth Rollins vs Baron Corbin and Becky Lynch vs Lacey Evans.

When will The Boss return?

#4 Hope is true: Finn Balor taking a hiatus

Finn Balor will be out of action for some time

Finn Balor has been active on WWE's main roster since April of 2017. He debuted around late July 2016, but an injury obtained at SummerSlam that year meant that he would be out of action until early 2017 - and he made his on-screen return on the night after WrestleMania 33.

Fans haven't been happy with the way he has been utilized on the main roster, although 2019 has been quite a year for him. Not only did he have a dream match against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, but he also became a 2-time Intercontinental Champion.

However, Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that Balor requested a break from WWE and that it was granted. He is expected to face Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam and it could be a hiatus after that. Balor deserves the much-needed break and we hope he comes back with a huge character change.

#4 Hope isn't true: No Demon King at SummerSlam

Finn Balor at WrestleMania 35

Finn Balor has the perfect SummerSlam streak and so far, he's been 3-0, with all three occasions seeing him appear as The Demon King. On all 3 occasions, he has won his matches comfortably.

Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Baron Corbin have been his victims so far and it seems as though his mini-streak will end this year if he faces The Fiend Bray Wyatt. While it was expected that it will be The Fiend vs The Demon, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that the current plan is for Finn Balor to appear as "The Man" and not "The Demon King".

While it is nice that WWE would protect The Demon, it takes away from a huge special attraction match and it would have given Bray Wyatt a huge rub as The Fiend to be the first one to beat The Demon King on the main roster.

#3 We hope is true: Vince McMahon unbans a popular move

Vince McMahon

In WWE, there are quite a few moves that have been banned before and it wasn't just for the sake of safety. It had a lot to do with the fact that if it was imitated, it could cause some serious damage.

A few moves that have been banned in the past include The Styles Clash (when AJ Styles first arrived in WWE), the muscle-buster (which still hasn't been used on the main roster) and the Curb Stomp (later renamed "The Stomp").

Byan Alvarez on the Wrestling Observer Radio stated that Vince McMahon was shown a clip of the Canadian Destroyer and asked why it wasn't being done on WWE TV. He said:

I wish I remembered the details but the point of this is that someone showed Vince a clip of the Canadian Destroyer. Vince said something to the effect of 'why don’t we do that cool sh** on our show?

The Canadian Destroyer is, in fact, a very cool move and we hope it gets used more on TV.

#3 We hope isn't true: Britt Baker suffers a concussion at Fight For The Fallen

Dr. Britt Baker

AEW Fight For The Fallen was a good night for most superstars, but Britt Baker wasn't one of them. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D, as you know her, was in a tag team match where she teamed with Riho to take on Bea Priestly and Shoko Nakajima.

There was a moment in the match where Baker was ridiculed because she accidentally went to tag in Nakajima rather than her own partner Riho. However, it turned out to be no laughing matter as Baker reportedly suffered a concussion during the match.

Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio stated that Baker's concussion was "pretty bad" and "significant". A fan in attendance tweeted out saying:

"I'm pretty certain this Bea Priestley kick gave Britt Baker a concussion. She could barely stand up after it. I'm not sure she was even aware of where she was for a minute or two. Unfortunate if it's true."

We hope for Baker's sake that she recovers soon. Concussions are no joke and must be taken seriously.

#2 We hope is true: Paul Heyman is making a huge change to promos on RAW

Is he at the wheel now?

Paul Heyman's arrival as an Executive Producer on Monday Night RAW has led to a lot of excitement. Unlike Eric Bischoff on SmackDown, Paul Heyman is clearly being involved directly with the entire creative process, even reportedly convincing Vince McMahon that the program needs a bit of a facelift and shake-up.

Another major weak-point of the show on RAW are the promos that are cut. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, one of the aspects of RAW that Heyman wants changed is the way that promos are cut.

Heyman reportedly feels that promos seem a little too "fake" and he wants to make a major change by adding more realistic promos to television. One of the other things he wants to make more realistic is the selling of injuries.

For example, a Superstar will be selling an injury throughout the course of weeks rather than being injured one week and fine the next.

This would be a huge bold step from Heyman.

#2 We hope isn't true: The reason behind the trainwreck match on RAW

Way too long

The latest episode of RAW was quite good, but one major problem with the show was the Women's Fatal-4-Way elimination match. The stipulation was to crown the new #1 contender to Becky Lynch's RAW Women's Championship and it was contested between Natalya, Naomi, Alexa Bliss, and Carmella.

The match, unfortunately, turned out to be quite a trainwreck, with the crowd chanting "This is boring" more often than not. The fact of the matter is that the match went on 15 minutes longer than it needed to go and despite Alexa Bliss calling the crowd "disrespectful", it really had nothing to do with fans' perception about the women wrestling.

With that being said, Bryan Alvarez stated that the reason behind the long match is because it took place in the same city that the WWE Evolution PPV happened last year, i.e, Long Island. We hope that isn't true because it's a rather stupid reason to have a disaster of a match.

#1 We hope is true: WWE protecting Roman Reigns due to his health

Roman Reigns has reportedly not returned "full-time" yet

Roman Reigns made a miraculous return to WWE this past February after a battle with leukemia. It was easily one of the top 5 moments of this decade in WWE and Reigns has been all about inspiring people to fight back.

This has made a rather interesting situation - WWE hasn't pushed Reigns back to the top instantly like they were expected to and that is for a very good reason. Our own Tom Colohue reported that WWE is still protecting Roman Reigns and that he still isn't back "full-time" despite appearing every other week.

He went on to state that the reason why WWE has booked him in so many tag team matches has been to protect him. They likely don't want him to work on the level that Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston is right now out of concern for his health. And we commend them for taking care of him that way.

#1 We hope isn't true: The Undertaker vs Drew McIntyre canceled for SummerSlam?

What a shot

The general consensus heading out of WWE Extreme Rules was that The Undertaker was going to face Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam. They even had a face-to-face moment at Extreme Rules to tease it and McIntyre was being protected accordingly.

However, one night after the match, he was pinned clean by Cedric Alexander, indicating that the match may not have been made yet. Now, Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio reported that there are currently no plans for The Undertaker to wrestle at SummerSlam.

While we constantly write about why The Undertaker shouldn't wrestle again, there is a bit of disappointment in this. He had his best match in four years at Extreme Rules and putting a young Superstar like Drew McIntyre over would be huge. We hope this isn't true, simply because we feel that McIntyre deserves that rub.