WWE Rumor Roundup: Massive superstar will not return to the company, Plan changed for Cody Rhodes because of injury, Brock Lesnar's future

Welcome to the latest edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup, where we aim to bring you the most prominent stories and updates from the world of sports entertainment. In today's edition, we will examine some exciting rumors revolving around top names like Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar, and CM Punk.

There have been many moving parts since Royal Rumble, and the plans for WrestleMania 40 are in full gear. Cody Rhodes won the men's Royal Rumble match, although there was speculation that CM Punk would emerge victorious. The Beast Incarnate did not show up at the event despite being rumored to return at the event.

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#1 Potential change in plans for Cody Rhodes because of CM Punk's injury

This week on RAW, Seth Rollins tried to convince Cody Rhodes to face him for the World Heavyweight Championship instead of Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. The rumored original match planned for The Visionary would have seen him take on CM Punk at 'Mania. However, Punk got injured at Royal Rumble, and the creative team went ahead with the Rollins-Rhodes segment on the red show.

Per a report from Fightful Select, the intended winner of the men's Royal Rumble match was always Cody Rhodes and the event unfolded as planned. Nevertheless, alterations were made to this week's episode of WWE RAW due to CM Punk's injury. The encounter between Rhodes and Rollins on Monday night seemingly resulted from The Second City Saint's unforeseen injury.

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#2 Sasha Banks will reportedly not return to WWE

There has been much speculation about the future of Mercedes Mone (fka Sasha Banks). She quit the company along with Naomi in 2022. While Naomi made her return at Royal Rumble, The Boss' next step remains unclear.

Some fans expecting Banks to return to WWE last Saturday were disappointed. Per PWInsider, she wasn't present backstage either. It was also reported that she would not return to the company.

According to insiders closely linked to Mone, she is expected to return to the ring around March 2024. Notably, the source also revealed that she won't re-sign with WWE.

It's worth mentioning that the report comes from the same source that initially confirmed Mone's debut in NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023.

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#3 Brock Lesnar is not expected to join AEW

WWE reportedly decided to remove Brock Lesnar from Royal Rumble, citing his potential involvement in the latest lawsuit against Vince McMahon.

Per the lawsuit, McMahon allegedly distributed explicit photos and videos of former WWE employee Janel Grant to an unidentified wrestler, strongly believed by some to be Brock Lesnar. This scandal raised questions about Lesnar's future in WWE. Meanwhile, Dave Meltzer claimed that The Beast was unlikely to join AEW:

“I don’t think that [Brock] Lesnar’s going to wrestle for anybody else. I don’t think he’s cost-effective for AEW, and I don’t think AEW would touch him right now anyway. And he couldn’t because he’s under a contract. I would suspect that whenever his contract expires, then we’ll see if they renew. And I can see it going either way.”

Meltzer said in a previous report that many within the company believed that fans might have seen the last of Brock Lesnar in WWE.

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