4 Wrestling rumors we hope are true and 4 we hope aren't: Important Title change before WrestleMania canceled, Why WWE is "concerned" about Edge's current run

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. The road to WrestleMania is coming to a close, with only two episodes of RAW and SmackDown left before WWE's biggest show of the year.

This week's edition will focus on WWE's plans for WrestleMania, more backstage rumors, injuries, and bizarre situations as well.

#4. Hope is true: WWE's original plans for the US title

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Riddle is now the United States Champion, less than a year into his WWE main roster run. At Elimination Chamber 2021, the originally-planned United States Championship match was a Triple Threat bout featuring Bobby Lashley against Keith Lee and Riddle.

For unknown reasons, Lee was quietly pulled from the pay-per-view by WWE and a Fatal-Four-Way match was made to determine his replacement at Elimination Chamber. John Morrison won that match but ended up taking the pinfall in the title match to Riddle, who won the United States Championship in the process.

Riddle will now be heading into WrestleMania 37 as the US Champion, where he is expected to face Sheamus, based on a segment from the 22nd March episode of RAW.

As per Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Keith Lee was originally planned to win the United States Championship, but was removed:

"Riddle's winning the U.S. title was not the original plan. The booked idea for the three-way was for Riddle to lose the fall to Lee, as a way to get the belt off Lashley since they were moving him to the WWE title and get the U.S. title on Lee. But Lee missed the show due to health-related issues and still hasn't returned."

While we don't hope that the health issue rumors are true, we hope that the original plan for Keith Lee to win the US title was. WWE couldn't have gone wrong with either option, especially since Bobby Lashley came out the biggest winner from that situation in the long run.

Lee was in a better position than Riddle at that point as well, having challenged for the WWE Championship (unsuccessfully) a month earlier. Either way, we don't doubt that Keith Lee's upward trajectory will resume once he returns to WWE.

#4. Hope isn't true: WWE's concerns about Edge

WWE has made quite a few changes to the WrestleMania 37 main event. Night Two was originally going to be headlined by a blockbuster Universal title match between Roman Reigns and WWE Hall of Famer Edge.

However, Daniel Bryan's recent involvement has not only led to him getting added to the main event, but Edge turned heel after 10 years in the process as well.

There was an interesting report from the latest edition of WON. While Edge's age is reportedly not the reason behind WWE's decision to add Bryan to the match, there have been backstage concerns about Edge looking worn out with each passing week:

"One person close to the situation said that the age issue, not as much the number as the look of age ("he was looking older each week") with Edge, was a concerning point. But really, it was said it was just McMahon wanting to shake up the plans."

We hope this isn't true, even if it is a fair concern for WWE. While we understand that it's in WWE's best interest to look after the well-being of their performers, Edge has looked great since his return. His match against Jey Uso on SmackDown was fantastic and his heel turn has reinvigorated a lot of fans' interest in him.

#3. Hope is true: Triple H high on a new WWE gimmick

One of the reasons why several WWE fans consider NXT to be a better "pure wrestling" product than RAW or SmackDown is the fact that they do things very differently.

This applies to matches, storylines, and even characters as well. With less of a backstage hold on characters' creativity, there have been some interesting developments recently.

One of them was the introduction of the mysterious Tian Sha - portrayed by the 29-year old Karen Q. While it's been two years since Karen Q has wrestled, there is no confirmation as to whether she will play the Tian Sha character going forward.

Either way, there could be big plans for her in WWE. According to Fightful, Triple H and Shawn Michaels are both heavily invested in the Tian Sha character and are "hands-on" with it:

Sportskeeda's Matt Black wrote:

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, both Triple H and Shawn Michaels are very high on the Tian Sha gimmick. Both men believe the storyline has legs and a "long-term future" with the black and gold brand. Backstage sources within NXT also told Sapp that Triple H and Michaels are very hands-on with the gimmick's presentation that is seen almost every week.

We hope this is true because there hasn't been a character like this before. If it does well enough, we wouldn't be surprised to see Tian Sha quickly appear on the WWE main roster.

#3. Hope isn't true: The reason behind Keith Lee's absence in WWE

Keith Lee had momentum on his side before he stopped appearing on WWE TV. While WWE was criticized for their "50/50" booking of Lee, it was evident that he was being positioned for a future main event spot, even if he lost to Drew McIntyre in a WWE title match.

However, there hasn't been much news about Keith Lee's absence. Whenever a WWE Superstar is quietly away from television for a few weeks, fans assume that they have COVID.

WWE makes it a habit not to reveal who has tested positive for COVID, with only a few exceptions like Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair being open about it. According to Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select, Keith Lee has been off WWE TV due to unknown health reasons. Sportskeeda's Matt Black wrote:

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, Keith Lee is currently off of television due to "health reasons," and WWE has yet to clear him for a return to the ring. Because of this, Lee isn't factored into any WWE storylines at the moment. WWE sources have told Fightful that Keith Lee has been actively trying to get cleared since being sidelined. He's also undergone testing since being off WWE television in an effort to get cleared and return to the ring quicker.

We hope this isn't true because it's been over a month - which is longer than expected. We hope that he isn't facing lasting effects from COVID if that's what he had.

#2. Hope is true: WWE is still flexible with Bad Bunny's WrestleMania plans

Puerto Rican celebrity singer Bad Bunny has made an impact on WWE since his appearance at the Royal Rumble. He has been appearing every week to build to a match at WrestleMania - and it's now official.

While the original rumors stated that WWE planned a tag team match between Bad Bunny and Damian Priest against The Miz and John Morrison for WrestleMania 37, fans were surprised to see it announced as Bunny vs. The Miz in a singles match.

According to PWInsider, Morrison and Priest are dealing with minor injuries, but WWE is still flexible to add both of them if they recover on time:

According to PWInsider, both [John] Morrison and [Damian] Priest are currently suffering from "minor injuries" that motivated WWE to reconsider the announcement of this match as a tag team encounter in April. It's also reported that if Morrison and Priest get cleared before WrestleMania, this bout will be changed back into a tag team match.

We hope this is true because the likeliness of it getting changed to a tag team match is high. It seems like most WWE Superstars (and wrestlers in general) work through niggling injuries - so we would be surprised to see Damian Priest and John Morrison miss out on such a big show over minor injuries.

#2. Hope isn't true: The real reason why Aleister Black has been away from WWE

Aleister Black has been missing from WWE TV for close to half a year. It's unfortunate, especially given the level of talent he possesses. With Andrade asking for and getting his WWE release, the belief is that Black will follow suit. It doesn't help that his wife Thea Trinidad (fka Zelina Vega) was released by WWE as well.

According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Aleister Black is out due to an injury. There was no specification made as to when it happened. Sportskeeda's Shruti Sadbhav wrote:

Dave Meltzer shared the update on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. It is not clear when Black was injured. Aleister Black was last seen on television in October during the 2020 WWE Draft when he was moved to SmackDown.

We hope this isn't true, but it likely means that he has a chance at getting a spot back when he returns to WWE. The rumors circulating have been about how Aleister Black was a "Paul Heyman guy" and that Vince McMahon didn't see much in him.

#1. Hope is true: Why WWE changed the WrestleMania 37 main event

WWE officially changed the main event of Night Two at WrestleMania 37 - with Daniel Bryan getting added and making the Universal title match a Triple Threat bout. There were a lot of questions about the decision to change the main event and the thought process behind it.

Daniel Bryan seemed to be Roman Reigns' final opponent before WrestleMania, but the way the story played out at WWE Fastlane, it was clear what the direction was. Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio revealed that Vince McMahon wanted to "tear up the show" and make changes, with the main event being the key one.

As per Meltzer, there were a lot of bad ideas thrown around, but the three-way was a logical move. He said:

"The idea is it’s three guys who are really good workers. I thought that it was one of those things where they were afraid that Roman Reigns was gonna get cheered against Edge and f**k up the match. I thought that but that is not the reason…I think that he just felt that it wasn't what he wanted and it was what he wanted and now it wasn't what he wanted. So Daniel Bryan is in there and Edge is a heel, which I guess is what he wanted so there you go." (h/t WrestlingNews.co)

We hope this is true because the main event of WrestleMania seems to be guaranteed fireworks. Knowing that each man had to face their own form of adversity in the form of career-ending injuries and leukemia, it makes the main event more special. Adding Daniel Bryan seems to be a wise move made by WWE.

#1. Hope isn't true: WWE being "secretive" about Charlotte Flair's status

Charlotte Flair has been away from WWE TV

12-time WWE Women's Champion Charlotte Flair seemed poised to face Asuka for the RAW Women's Championship. However, she was quietly pulled from her spot on the WrestleMania 37 poster and the advertising.

The initial speculation was that it had to do with a backstage dispute regarding her fiancée Andrade's WWE release. Charlotte Flair then revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19, though this may have possibly been over 10 days after she went into quarantine.

Dave Meltzer revealed on the latest WOR that something is happening with Flair and that WWE is being secretive about it:

"She's doing the movie. As far as Charlotte and WrestleMania, I've been asking that all week and everyone's avoiding me on that one. There's definitely a story that's not the movie because if it was the movie, it wouldn't be hidden. I think I know but whatever. It's definitely something that's being hidden as far as whatever is the deal with Charlotte."

We hope this isn't true because it could mean that it has something to do with the entire situation with Andrade. Charlotte Flair is a valuable asset to WWE and it would be a huge loss for them if anything were to result in her leaving.