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Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. It's been a big week for WWE post-Money in the Bank and the build-up to SummerSlam has begun.
While SummerSlam is normally the second-biggest pay-per-view of the WWE calendar year, it's going to be the biggest overall this year in terms of crowd attendance and the depth of the card.
It will be interesting to see how things play out. This week's edition features rumors about a few big returns to WWE, a babyface turn, backstage notes, and a major departure, among other things:
#3. Hope is true: The Rock's expected WWE return date and plans for his run
It's hard to imagine The Rock making his in-ring return to WWE as it's been a long time since we've seen him on television. His last "match" was against Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32 in 2016, but that hardly counts since it was six seconds.
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His actual last match in WWE, however, was at WrestleMania 29 when he lost to John Cena in the main event. During that match, he suffered a terrible injury that delayed the filming of Hercules, costing a lot of time and money.
After that, it's believed that his insurance company wouldn't allow him to wrestle anymore as it would create another such situation. But 2021 is a year where there have been more return rumors than any of the years before.
That's because there is reportedly serious talk about The Rock making a return to WWE, setting up an even bigger program in 2022. Andrew Zarain of the Mat Men podcast first reported that there are plans for The Rock to return at Survivor Series 2021.
He stated additionally that the USA Network wants The Rock so it isn't simply going to be a "RAW" or "SmackDown" storyline. The Rock could be everywhere:
“I can tell you, USA Network tentatively wants him on that Monday. By the way, he’s gonna go everywhere. This isn’t like a RAW storyline. He’s going to be on everything,” said Andrew Zarian.
To top it all off, The Rock's potential return could happen on the 25th anniversary of his debut. The ultimate objective of his return run? Set up the main event against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38. Since WrestleMania 38 will take place at the AT & T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, WWE needs to sell out 100,000 tickets.
Zarain stated that the penciled-in main event is Roman Reigns vs The Rock - a blockbuster bout and the biggest match WWE can book right now.
“By the way, Rock vs Roman, that is what is soft on paper for the main event in Dallas. I mean, Dallas, 100,000 people, you need the freaking Rock,” said Andrew Zarian.
We hope this is true because it's a massive dream match and the biggest that WWE can make. It would further serve to elevate Roman Reigns and although it may not sell as much, it could be better than The Rock-John Cena program from 2011-2013.
#3. Hope isn't true: Why WWE wants to bring back Braun Strowman
When looking at the list of WWE releases in 2021, there were a few names that seemed to be inevitably in for a return. Braun Strowman was arguably the most shocking WWE release of 2021.
The reported reason behind his release was that Braun Strowman was on quite a lucrative 7-figure contract. It's a shame because it only meant that Braun Strowman knew his worth when negotiating his deal and likely secured it in a good time when WWE was handing out contracts.
With a few of the names jumping to AEW, WWE didn't want to take the same chance with The Monster Among Men. There is now reportedly interest from WWE in bringing Braun Strowman back, per The Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
There is interest in bringing Strowman back, especially after recent AEW signings.
While we would love to see Braun Strowman return to WWE and think that he's a better fit for them than AEW, we hope this isn't true because AEW shouldn't be the sole reason why WWE wants to bring back Braun Strowman. He's a valuable talent and shouldn't be treated like any other disposable superstar.
All we can hope for is that WWE doesn't offer a pay cut to Braun Strowman for a return.
#2. Hope is true: Backstage reaction in NXT to Karrion Kross' WWE main roster debut
NXT Champion Karrion Kross made his WWE main roster debut while carrying the title with him. Probably a bad idea, but nobody knew what was going to happen. Kross was undefeated on NXT up to that point and even became a two-time Champion after he had to vacate it the first time.
When Kross made his main roster debut on RAW this week, he faced WWE legend Jeff Hardy. In a shocking move, Hardy pinned Karrion Kross by cheating, leaving fans bewildered. In the eyes of fans, it seemed to be a big message that WWE higher-ups don't care about NXT.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, the backstage mood in NXT was reportedly more of a "not mad, but disappointed" vibe:
"The general mood of those that we spoke to was a "not mad, disappointed" vibe, as they felt this represented how the NXT brand was viewed by higher ups as a whole," Sean Ross Sapp reported.
We hope this is true because it says a lot about WWE's perception of NXT. While they spent a long time in 2019 trying to establish it as the third brand, that seems to have been undone.
#2. Hope isn't true: Backstage news on Randy Orton's WWE absence
Randy Orton has been away from WWE for a while now. He was supposed to compete in the "Last Chance Qualifying Match" on RAW for the final Men's Money in the Bank ladder match slot, but he was abruptly pulled while his tag team partner Riddle took his place for that match.
Since then, Riddle has done his best to pay tribute to the WWE legend and 14-time World Champion. But there has been radio silence from both WWE and Randy Orton's end about his absence, leading some to suspect that he may have gotten COVID-19.
It's only speculation, and the reason for it is that WWE did that throughout 2020. Normally, when a superstar was absent and quietly pulled without any mention, it was COVID. But that may not be the case as Keith Lee's absence wasn't explained for months.
According to Fightful, there is still no reason given for Randy Orton's absence. Sportskeeda's Divesh Merani wrote:
Sean Ross Sapp recently reported on Fightful Select that Orton has been on WWE's disabled/inactive list for the past month, although no concrete reason was given for his disappearance from weekly programming.
We hope this isn't true, but it was additionally reported that Randy Orton is expected to return in early August.
#1. Hope is true: Rhea Ripley's character in WWE
When Rhea Ripley made her official jump to the WWE main roster, she directly confronted then-RAW Women's Champion Asuka and challenged her to a match at WrestleMania 37.
Since there were no other options available, the WWE Grand Slam Women's Champion Asuka accepted and lost the title to Ripley at the grandest stage of them all. When Ripley made her main roster debut, she was seemingly a heel. Even during her reign as the RAW Women's Champion, she was reportedly considered a heel, though she had what is known as "tweener" characteristics - where she was in between being a babyface and a heel.
Her feud with Charlotte Flair, in that case, was a heel vs heel feud. However, as per PWInsider, WWE officially considers Rhea Ripley a babyface and that her turn happened quietly in the last few weeks:
"Going forward, Rhea Ripley is considered a babyface. This had quietly happened over the last few weeks but we are told it was made clear internally that going forward, she is now 100% a babyface. Ripley was initially brought in as a heel."
We hope this is true because RAW needs more babyfaces in the women's division. Ripley is one of WWE's most promising stars and has a long career ahead. She will likely be flipping back and forth between being a baby face and heel when required.
#1. Hope isn't true: Daniel Bryan done with WWE for good?
All signs seem to indicate that Daniel Bryan is done with WWE for good. When he lost to Roman Reigns on SmackDown, he was kicked out of the brand in the storyline, marking the end of an incredible tenure on the blue brand.
However, what many didn't realize until later was that Daniel Bryan's WWE contract legitimately expired soon after that. Despite this, there were rumors that WWE was confident about re-signing Daniel Bryan. Given his openness about wanting to transition into part-time status, the assumption was that he would re-sign with WWE in a part-time role.
However, new signs have emerged and rumors now indicate that Daniel Bryan is not re-signing with WWE. According to Bryan Alvarez on the Wrestling Observer Radio, one of the projects involving WWE superstars was informed that Daniel Bryan was no longer working for WWE:
"I’m not sure if it’s the video game or what it is but one of these projects that involves obviously the wrestlers in WWE, they were alerted today that this person, this person, this person, this person, this person no longer with WWE and one of the people they mentioned was Daniel Bryan," said Alvarez. "Realistically, he’s not with the company, that’s true, but that is an indication that at this point, [they will] take him out of whatever project this is because he’s not with this company," said Bryan Alvarez about the Daniel Bryan situation. (H/T WrestlingNews)
WrestleVotes admitted that they don't have many direct AEW contacts, but revealed that within WWE creative, it's been months since Daniel Bryan's name was mentioned in all kinds of plans:
We hope this isn't true because we would like to see Daniel Bryan transition into a part-time status in WWE, but if he wants to try his luck with AEW to wrestle some newer names that he hasn't competed against before, it's completely understandable.
