WWE Rumor Review: The Rock's cousin released, top star built to face Brock Lesnar, 12-time champion's in-ring return

Welcome to this week's edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE Rumor Review, where we will look at some big rumors from close to a year ago and determine how accurate they were.

Between October and November 2021, many things transpired. From big rematches being teased and top stars returning from injury to some shocking names being let go by WWE.

The Rock was in the rumor mill ahead of the 25th anniversary of his debut at Survivor Series. Meanwhile, there was talk of the company preparing a top babyface to go against Brock Lesnar. NXT's return to the road was also speculated.

Without further ado, let's get into the Rumor Review.

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#5. NXT live events returning

WWE did not hold any house shows for over 16 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the gap was even longer for NXT. The brand was rumored to resume touring in late October, following a change from its original form to NXT 2.0.

The company posted a job opening on LinkedIn for a Senior Production Assistant in Social Media for NXT 2.0. The brand eventually got back on the road in June 2022. So, while it was over six months after the rumored plans for NXT to resume house shows, it eventually happened.

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#4. Nia Jax released by WWE

Nia Jax was let go in November 2021

November 4, 2021 was a dark day for WWE fans and wrestlers alike as the company released a bunch of main roster superstars. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported the cuts, which were all confirmed quickly.

One of the biggest names that was let go was Nia Jax, who was a prominent part of Monday Night RAW. The Rock's cousin on his mother's side, Jax is yet to wrestle another match since her WWE release.

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#3. Sheamus' return from injury

Sheamus has been in stellar form recently

Sheamus broke his nose in mid-2021, causing him to undergo surgery and wear a mask while he recovered. However, a few months later, The Celtic Warrior went under the knife again to fix his nagging issues.

This ruled Sheamus out for the entire month of October, but he returned fairly quickly. He was advertised for multiple matches during WWE's tour of the UK in early November.

While initially paired with Finn Balor, the four-time world champion also wrestled a couple of tag team matches. Either way, Sheamus made his in-ring return after a brief spell on the sidelines during the aforementioned tour.

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#2. Rumor on The Rock's status for Survivor Series 2021

The final months of 2021 were filled with rumors about The Rock and his potential clash with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38. This led to talk of The Brahma Bull returning to WWE at Survivor Series, which also marked the 25th anniversary of his debut in the company.

However, according to Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast, The Rock was out of the US at the time of Survivor Series. Sure enough, the Hollywood star did not show up for his own celebration, not even on video.

Furthermore, Zarian reported that the focus of the match between The Rock and Reigns was shifted towards WrestleMania 39, which will take place in Los Angeles, as opposed to the 2022 edition of The Show of Shows.

The Tribal Chief faced Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38, and it remains to be seen if The Great One will return to feud with his cousin.

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#1. WWE rumored to be building Drew McIntyre to face Brock Lesnar

Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar have faced off before

Just over a week after Brock Lesnar lost his Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel, it seemed like WWE was preparing another top star to face The Beast Incarnate.

Drew McIntyre defeated Mustafa Ali on the October 29 edition of SmackDown after locking in the Kimura Lock. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, The Scottish Warrior was asked to beat Ali with the submission hold, with rumors going around that it would lead to a match against Lesnar.

It has been a year, and the two are yet to have a match. McIntyre's only face-off with Brock Lesnar since then came in the final moments of the Royal Rumble Match. Thus, there may not have been any special motives behind using the Kimura Lock.

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