WWE Rumor Review 2022: WrestleMania plans for Roman Reigns, the next Brock Lesnar, major push for former star

Welcome to a special edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE Rumor Review. Here, we will look at the most prominent rumors from the world of WWE during the first half of 2022 and explore how they played out. Some of them were accurate while others were not.

Several significant developments have taken place backstage, including fairly recently. However, this review will focus on product-based stories, a couple of which have been all over the news for months.

So, without further ado, let's get into this special mid-2022 edition of the Rumor Review.

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#5. Rumors of the brand split ending

The past few months have seen superstars travel across RAW and SmackDown at will. There hasn't been any brand-to-brand discipline as there has been in recent years.

With stars appearing on different shows more frequently, rumors of WWE ending the concept altogether were inevitable. In May, Figure Four Online's Bryan Alvarez mentioned on Wrestling Observer Live that the company was "essentially done" with the brand split.

However, the rosters of RAW and SmackDown remain separate. The brand split doesn't look like it will end, although current stars will continue to jump between shows whenever needed.

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#4. WWE's plans for "another Brock Lesnar"

Brock Lesnar is not ordinary. He is an athlete of the highest caliber, which is why WWE would love to model prospective talents after The Beast Incarnate. This was seemingly the plan for Gable Steveson.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, the company was looking to fast-track the Olympic gold medalist to the main roster and book him like Lesnar. However, since that March rumor, Steveson has yet to embed himself on RAW or SmackDown.

While he appeared at WrestleMania 38 and suplexed Chad Gable, he has not wrestled yet. As of July, Gable Steveson has not properly debuted as a character. It will be interesting to see when he finally does.

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#3. The curious case of Sasha Banks

Is The Boss legit gone from the company?

Back in May, Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of Monday Night RAW after an apparent creative disagreement. WWE subsequently suspended the Women's Tag Team Champions and declared the titles vacant.

A month later, Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc. reported that the company had released the Legit Boss. This was a major shock to fans, as Banks is a massive star. However, the rumor appears to be accurate, per several other follow-ups from Raj and others.

While WWE's leadership was looking to smooth things over with her, it seems like Sasha Banks is gone. PWInsider has provided an update, claiming that she and Naomi have been removed from the company's internal roster. The situation is leaning in favor of the initial rumor of the release.

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#2. Plans for Cody Rhodes' grand return

The rumor mill was churning around Cody in February and March.

The wrestling world was flooded with rumors after Cody Rhodes announced he was leaving AEW. The American Nightmare was quickly linked with a return to WWE, with several outlets reporting that he was on his way back.

Wade Keller of PWTorch added to it, stating that Vince McMahon had big plans for Cody and was excited to take advantage of his star power. This led to talk of him getting a major match at WrestleMania 38.

That was precisely what happened, as Rhodes made his grand return at The Show of Shows and defeated Seth Rollins in an excellent match. He continued feuding with The Visionary, beating him twice more to establish himself as the top babyface in the company.

While a torn pectoral muscle is keeping him out of action, there is no doubt about WWE's commitment to pushing Cody Rhodes as a main eventer. His presentation has been immaculate so far, confirming the rumor's accuracy.

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#1. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38

When Brock Lesnar won the WWE Championship at the start of 2022, the company began teasing a "title vs. title" match between him and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38. However, that talk died down when he lost the belt to Bobby Lashley at the Royal Rumble.

However, Lesnar would win the 30-man Rumble and challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship. Shortly afterward, Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Live that WWE seemingly did not have any plans to make their WrestleMania match "title vs. title."

This would turn out to be false after The Beast Incarnate regained his championship at Elimination Chamber in Saudi Arabia. The company would unify the world titles at The Show of Shows, as Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

So, not only did the main event of WrestleMania 38 feature both world titles, it also led to their unification. The Tribal Chief is the only male world champion on RAW or SmackDown. He is set to defend the belts against The Beast Incarnate in a Last Man Standing Match at SummerSlam.

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