5 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: 'Endgame' for Roman Reigns' Universal title reign revealed, Canceled plan for WWE legend's return after 2 years

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/Wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. As always, we'll waste no time on the introduction and jump right into the rumors!

#5. Hope is true: WWE's endgame for Roman Reigns' Universal title reign

Corey Graves deleted his Tweet! More details HERE.

Roman Reigns' return to WWE after over five months changed the entire scenario on SmackDown. From WrestleMania 36 until the summer, Braun Strowman was the top babyface on WWE's Blue brand while Bray Wyatt/The Fiend was the top heel.

Roman Reigns has always been WWE's golden boy and number one babyface since 2015. But for the first time in over six-and-a-half years, he finally turned heel, aligning with Paul Heyman in the process.

This has shaken things up quite a bit and Tom Colohue revealed on Dropkick DiSKussions that WWE's endgame for Roman Reigns' Universal Championship reign is to eventually have a big feud with The Fiend Bray Wyatt, who he was originally going to face at WrestleMania 36 (before Goldberg came and changed that):

Well, it has been made clear to me that The Fiend is endgame material so this is the real big feud that they want to put together between these two. That said, we could see the match at any point, such is the way of long-term planning in the WWE right now. If they need to pull the trigger ahead of time if someone is injured or someone is unavailable, and they just need a big feud to fill the spot, it could be that we see this match very soon, even as soon as Hell in a Cell. I would be surprised though to see it happen before the Royal Rumble. I think they want to keep The Fiend out of Hell in a Cell after what happened last year and when it comes to the Hell in a Cell, The Fiend is not really made to step into that particular match.

Colohue added that while there will certainly be one big match, WWE normally does a series of matches, which is why they reportedly filled the time between WrestleMania 36 and SummerSlam with three different aspects to Bray Wyatt's character.

We hope this is true because this is the biggest feud that can be done on SmackDown. Roman Reigns himself admitted last year a couple of months before WrestleMania 36 that he would prefer facing Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania than Goldberg - with an eye to WWE's future.

#5. Hope isn't true: WWE canceled plans for a legend's return before releasing AoP

The AoP, along with The Revival, are arguably two of WWE's wasted opportunities in the tag team division and otherwise. Everyone pointed out how AoP had a Legion of Doom-esque vibe to them, and Triple H certainly believed that when he paired them with Paul Ellering in NXT.

For unknown reasons, WWE decided to abandon Paul Ellering as their manager shortly after their RAW debut in 2018 and while they found some success, their time on the Red brand was unfortunately plagued with injuries. Rezar had suffered a bicep injury, putting both men off the shelf.

Dave Meltzer had revealed on the Wrestling Observer Radio that AoP's return plans weren't for them to re-align with Seth Rollins:

The only thing I had heard…because he had just gotten cleared and the idea was that he was not going to be back with Seth Rollins, which was their original role but they didn’t know where they would be.

It adds up, because WWE Hall of Famer and legend Paul Ellering had told The Two Man Power Trip Podcast that the original plan was for him to return and align with AoP, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed that:

Well, the idea was to bring me back in to manage them full time on Raw and go on the road with the Authors of Pain, but the pandemic happened. So with Covid going on, I’m not sure what happens next

We hope this isn't true, but if Paul Ellering had mentioned it himself, it probably was.

#4. Hope is true: Reason why WWE went with Jey Uso as Roman Reigns' first Universal title opponent

While the idea may not have seemed appealing at first, WWE went in an interesting direction post-Payback 2020 as Roman Reigns is now feuding with his cousin Jey Uso. The two will face off in one of the key matches at Clash of Champions 2020 and many fans were surprised that WWE went with Jey Uso as Roman Reigns' first Universal title challenger.

Tom Colohue revealed on Dropkick DiSKussions that WWE allowed Roman Reigns to choose Jey Uso as an opponent, similar to how Drew McIntyre had reportedly chosen to feud with Jinder Mahal before his untimely injury:

"Not solely, but heavily influenced. Like many Champions who aren't in the midst of a major feud, Roman was encouraged to pick an opponent. You look at the reporting in this podcast from earlier in the year that Drew McIntyre wanted to work with Jinder Mahal. It's the same thing. I'm sure the discussion did take place during the period in which WWE was convincing him to return. So it may be an extra selling point for example, 'Oh, Roman, if you return we'll have you work with this person, or this person."

We hope this is true because it would be a good selling point to bring Roman Reigns back. To add to that, the Roman Reigns-Jey Uso feud has already turned out to be more interesting than WWE's push of the Braun Strowman-Bray Wyatt feud from April to August 2020.

#4. Hope isn't true: WWE had underwhelming plans for Keith Lee on RAW

Keith Lee had one of the best WWE main roster debuts that any Superstar could ask for, as he confronted a red-hot Randy Orton and beat him in his singles PPV debut in just six minutes.

WWE did well to establish Keith Lee as a potential WWE title challenger should Randy Orton become WWE Champion. And that could be the case as Orton cemented his place as Drew McIntyre's Clash of Champions opponent a night after his loss to Keith Lee at Payback.

Tom Colohue said on his RAW Preview that the original plan for Keith Lee was to feud with Seth Rollins before moving into a US title program:

According to Tom Colohue, the original plan was to have Seth Rollins feud with Keith Lee for a month, and Lee would later move into the United States Championship picture. Colohue also noted that the plan may be unlikely now that Rey Mysterio has been injured.

While we understand the mentality behind wanting to build Keith Lee up, the way they debuted him was much better. Randy Orton has a higher stock than Seth Rollins right now and even if Keith Lee won't become World Champion anytime soon, he comes off as legitimate enough to challenge for the title. That's why we hope this isn't true.

#3. Hope is true: WWE's plans for Dominik Mysterio as a babyface

If there was any doubt before, watching Dominik Mysterio in the ring since SummerSlam truly legitimized the fact that he is the future of WWE. At just 23 years old, Dominik Mysterio has proven to have the exceptional in-ring ability of his father Rey Mysterio.

And while he lost to Seth Rollins at SummerSlam (and on RAW), he won the match at Payback when he teamed up with his father to face Rollins and Murphy.

After his beatdown of Murphy along with his family on RAW on September 7th, PWInsider reported that WWE views Dominik as one of the top babyfaces on RAW and plans to continue pushing him:

PW Insider is reporting that the company views Dominik Mysterio in the top 25% of WWE RAW Superstars. That means Mysterio is among the top three or four babyfaces on WWE RAW. As far as plans for his push goes, the report noted that WWE would be continuing with the push.

We hope this is true because Dominik Mysterio has the potential to be among WWE's biggest stars and could be the star to lead the company in the future.

#3. Hope isn't true: Feelings of bitterness after WWE lays off around 70 employees

It's safe to say that the public image of WWE as a company hasn't been high during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their constant television presence has ensured that they remain far away from suffering major losses, but WWE used the opportunity to lay off dozens of Superstars in April and hundreds of other employees.

In the latest round of cuts, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed that as many as 70 employees were let go by WWE after first being furloughed. It was also mentioned that WWE had allegedly let go of the older employees and retained the younger workforce. Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:

It has been revealed that as many as 70 people were let go by the company this past week and the decision mainly came down to WWE not wanting to get back the employees that were furloughed in April.

There was reportedly a sense of bitterness over WWE's word on the furloughs:

The bitterness stemmed from the fact that the employees were told that furloughs were the last thing that the company wanted and that the decision was 'forced out of economic necessity' caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We hope this isn't true, but the harsh reality is that it probably is.

#2. Hope is true: Backstage fear led to WWE finally splitting Sasha Banks and Bayley

It was a long time in the making, and it finally happened. WWE pulled the trigger on the Bayley-Sasha Banks angle. While it was reportedly planned multiple times before (including a program for WrestleMania 36), various circumstances led to the split being delayed until post-Payback, where Bayley finally turned on Sasha Banks and brutally assaulted her, writing her out of WWE TV.

Tom Colohue discussed the split on Dropkick DiSKussions and said that there was a lot of backstage fear that it would be too late to pull the trigger on the break-up, which is why WWE finally went ahead with it:

"I think there was a fear that it was just too late or it was very much becoming too late, so they just want to get it done. I am not aware that this was the original plan as it were, I don't know what the original plan was, I do know that they need a big match, particularly a women's match for Hell in a Cell. Last I heard, they wanted one big men's match and one big women's match, so this would certainly fill that spot, wouldn't it? We don't really have an intense feud on RAW in the women's division, and until this, we didn't really have one on the SmackDOwn side either. So it's good that it finally happened. Outside of that, both women have done pretty much everything they possibly could as a tag team. So it was more than time. They have been teasing this for years and constantly pulling back."

We hope this is true because the split was long overdue. While we're not sure when Sasha Banks will return to WWE, we can only hope that it leads to a bigger program when she returns. Ideally, keeping them apart until WrestleMania would be the best way to culminate their long-standing program and alliance.

#2. Hope isn't true: Ivar's injury worse than WWE expected?

Former WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders will now be out indefinitely as Ivar suffered a cervical injury on the September 7th episode of RAW when attempting a Viking Dive.

While there is still no clear diagnosis on how long Ivar will be out for, Dave Meltzer revealed on the Wrestling Observer Radio that his injury could be worse than what WWE had anticipated:

Nothing is for sure, but it has not been determined whether or not he will need surgery. It’s a significant injury. Once you say that, it tells you that it’s just not like a stinger where you’re gonna come back in two weeks. It’s probably a lot worse than that. So, it’s not determined yet, but it’s absolutely as of today a possibility.”

We hope this isn't true because it would be a big loss to the WWE Tag Team division and unfortunate for Ivar as well. It's all a part of the risk in wrestling, but it's always sad to see someone get injured.

#1. Hope is true: WWE distinguishes Paul Heyman's role with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar

Could it be the same? Or is it different?

While Paul Heyman is WWE's best advocate and has long been the voice for Brock Lesnar, there have been many occasions where his promos have gotten stale and repetitive. Not that Paul Heyman is a bad promo by any means, but it's hard to recycle the same thing over and over.

That's where things will be different with Roman Reigns. Wade Keller of PWTorch discussed the new Paul Heyman-Roman Reigns alliance and said that unlike the situation with Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns will be talking more and described him as "subservient":

''I’m intrigued already with Heyman seemingly like a nervous subservient to Reigns, rather than “the brains in charge” with Reigns just along for the ride. This is the Reigns I always envisioned would be the blockbuster generational star for WWE. I’m eager to see how this translates to his in-ring style during a match.''

Wade Keller added that the ratio of Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns talking will be 60:40 rather than 100:0 with Brock Lesnar. We hope this is true because it will continue to build Roman Reigns as a dominant heel and establish an entirely new side of his character that we've never seen before.

#1. Hope isn't true: WWE either makes a mistake or plans for a failed MITB cash-in for Otis

While Otis is an entertaining Superstar and was one of the best parts of WrestleMania 36, the decision to make him Mr. Money in the Bank 2020 seemed a bit short-sighted.

Otis is in a storyline where The Miz and John Morrison have been attempting to steal his contract, but he outsmarted them on two occasions. It was pointed out from the photo above (when zoomed in) that the contract clearly states its from 2015 to 2016, making it a technically invalid contract. This could reportedly be WWE's way of making Otis fail his MITB cash-in:

The fans, however, did get a closeup of the MITB contract and as highlighted by WrestlingNews.co, WWE may have botched it up while printing the contract as the dates mentioned were wrong. As per the contract, Otis can only cash in the contract in 2015. Yes, the year mentioned in the contract is 2015! The contract states that Otis can cash in the MITB contract between 14th May 2015 and 15th May 2016.

We hope that this isn't true, but it could possibly be WWE's loophole. We still maintain that he shouldn't have won the MITB 2020 briefcase.

Edited by Zaid Khan