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Welcome to this week's edition of wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. We've got a stacked edition for you this week as WWE builds towards Backlash and AEW puts Double or Nothing behind them.
Let's waste no time and jump right into it:
#5. Hope is true: Rey Mysterio wants a former NXT and US Champion to retire him
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Rey Mysterio is scheduled for a retirement ceremony this coming Monday on RAW. While it might be a possible spoiler, you would have already guessed it by now - the plan isn't for the legend to legitimately retire.
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Sportskeeda's own Tom Colohue discussed the upcoming segment with Korey Gunz on Dropkick DiSKussions and said that WWE "spoiled it" by mentioning that Seth Rollins would be overseeing the ceremony:
Well, unfortunately, WWE has spoiled it slightly by mentioning that Seth Rollins would be overseeing the retirement ceremony. So I think they are definitely pushing in that direction.
Colohue said that if there is a point when Mysterio's contract expires (which is reportedly a few months from now), there are a few names to retire him, with former NXT and United States Champion Andrade being the frontrunner:
Andrade seems like the obvious one and I think he's the natural successor. He's someone Rey Mysterio wants to have retire him.
We hope this is true because Andrade is more deserving of anyone on the roster to retire a legend like Mysterio. The only other name we would throw in is Angel Garza, but only if he gains momentum and Mysterio sticks around for longer.
We never know if Garza might overshadow Andrade in the coming year. While Andrade has always been the "targeted" future top star, Angel Garza has shown the potential to possibly be in that spot as well.
#5. Hope isn't true: Adam Cole's expiring contract and link with AEW
Adam Cole is the longest-reigning NXT Champion in the brand's history. Surpassing Finn Balor's 292-day reign as Champion, Cole is going to complete a full calendar year with the title and he's set to defend it against The Velveteen Dream at NXT Takeover: In Your House.
It was in Adam Cole's reign as Champion that NXT was fully established as WWE's "third brand", with many considering his reign as the best in NXT history. However, despite his position, his status in WWE could be uncertain.
Wrestlingnews.co revealed that Adam Cole's WWE contract is set to expire in a few months - around late August or early September. Moreover, he's been linked to a possible move to All Elite Wrestling, the promotion where his girlfriend, Dr. Britt Baker wrestles.
Sportskeeda's Sripad Kilikar wrote:
The current NXT Champion is also being linked with a move to All Elite Wrestling by WrestlingNews. They report that he attended a couple of AEW parties recently, including the Memorial Day party in Jacksonville, Florida on Monday.
We hope this isn't true because Cole is much better off in WWE. He has a high ceiling and is a future main eventer that WWE needs more than AEW does. We expect him to stick around, even if his girlfriend is in a rival promotion.
#4. Hope is true: WWE bans a big move from future use
The Buckle bomb has been a used move for a long time now, most famously by Seth Rollins over the last few years. However, it's been a "notorious" move as well, injuring one top superstar and ending the career of a legend.
PWInsider reported that WWE has decided to ban buckle bombs from in-ring performances:
World Wrestling Entertainment has opted to remove powerbombs into the turnbuckles aka bucklebombs from the list of authorized moves used by talents during in-ring performances, PWInsider.com has confirmed with multiple sources.
In September 2015, Seth Rollins used the Buckle Bomb on Sting, which caused the legend to go limp before a quick conclusion to the match. That would be the end of Sting's incredible career. 11 months later in August 2016 at SummerSlam, it was the Buckle Bomb that resulted in Finn Balor's injury and forced him to vacate the WWE Universal Championship just 24 hours after becoming the inaugural Champion.
We hope this is true because it's been a dangerous move that can go wrong at any given time.
#4. Hope isn't true: Apollo Crews in a vulnerable spot as Champion?
Apollo Crews has just begun his reign as the United States Champion, beating Andrade on RAW to win his first title since joining WWE and debuting in NXT in 2015. He's long been an underutilized superstar, but things seem to be changing for him and he's now in a big spot.
Tom Colohue pointed out that despite his two-month push and title win, he's still in a vulnerable spot. He pointed out that the United States title has seen short title reigns and primarily been dominated by small factions.
He also said that the coming months are going to be a big test for Apollo Crews and that he'll have to prove himself to overcome previous concerns:
He's fairly new to RAW, he's never been given a substantial push on RAW of any kind and additionally, the concern that they always had with Apollo Crews is that he couldn't connect with the crowd. He's getting a push when there are no crowds, so it's hard to say or not whether it has been that successful. I think they are giving him a chance to prove himself, he's done very well in a short spell of time, but as we start approaching SummerSlam, the WWE tend to focus on more established names. He may lose the title before then
We hope this isn't true because Apollo Crews deserves a sustained push to prove himself. That requires a consistent push through the summer and even when the crowds are back.
#3. Hope is true: WWE's expectations of Matt Riddle on SmackDown
Kurt Angle made a surprise cameo appearance on the 29th May episode of SmackDown to announce that the blue brand had acquired one of its biggest names yet - Matt Riddle from NXT. Angle also went on to declare that he believes Matt Riddle will be the face of Friday Night SmackDown in WWE.
It seems like that statement wasn't thrown in the air without a reason. According to WrestleVotes, there are very high expectations for Matt Riddle and his run on Friday Night SmackDown:
We hope this is true because Matt Riddle is the kind of superstar who can handle that kind of pressure and expectation and excel in it. Ultimately, the cream will always rise to the top and Matt Riddle has been one of the most sought-after superstars for quite a few years now.
He's the exact kind of babyface who WWE can build a brand around and given that AJ Styles is likely on his last performer's contract for WWE, Riddle may not be a bad choice to succeed him in that spot.
#3. Hope isn't true: Hulk Hogan was originally scheduled for a big win at WrestleMania 36
Hulk Hogan was reportedly scheduled for an appearance at WWE WrestleMania 36, which was originally supposed to happen at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida - the city that The Hulkster resides in.
According to Paul Davis of Wrestlingnews.co, Hulk Hogan was penciled in for an appearance at the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, where he wouldn't take any bumps and just eliminate one or two Superstars for the win:
"The idea was he wouldn’t take any bumps. We would work it so he would only have to eliminate one or two guys at the end and then he would get his big celebration at the end with his music. It would have been perfect because he lives in the Tampa area.”
As you know, WWE was forced to scrap the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and the Women's Battle Royal since they had to follow a social distancing protocol and avoid having more than eight WWE Superstars in the ring at once.
Either way, we hope this rumor isn't true because it sounds like a terrible idea. Given that WrestleMania is filled with the most hardcore fans around the world, we doubt that Hogan would receive that big a pop.
#2. Hope is true: Brock Lesnar's return date
Brock Lesnar hasn't been seen since WrestleMania 36 - where he lost the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre in less than five minutes. One of the shortest main events in WrestleMania history, it would see the end of Lesnar's "season" before he took his annual hiatus for a few months.
The question is when we'll see The Beast Incarnate next. According to Tom Colohue in his new video, Brock Lesnar is expected to be back around SummerSlam time - with WWE hoping to have crowds back by then:
Brock Lesnar has been penciled in for an appearance if they are able to open in time for SummerSlam. We may be seeing The Beast Incarnate back sooner than we think.
Colohue reported earlier that Lesnar could finally be on course for a dream clash against Bobby Lashley, who has been getting a rebuild post-WrestleMania thanks to the assistance of MVP.
We hope this rumor is true because WWE doesn't need Brock Lesnar until SummerSlam. And while we don't expect Lashley to beat Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at Backlash 2020, a couple of months will be good to rebuild him as Brock Lesnar's next major threat.
#2. Hope isn't true: Samoa Joe replacing Jerry Lawler on commentary full-time?
Samoa Joe has replaced WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler on the commentary booth for some time now. Dave Meltzer revealed in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Samoa Joe is still not cleared to return and is now considered a "permanent" replacement for Jerry Lawler on RAW:
Regarding Samoa Joe, he is still not cleared to return, however he is also now considered the permanent replacement for Lawler as an announcer. What that means if/when he is cleared is that he may have the role where he announces and they can shoot angles for him to wrestle using that (since those kind of angles usually do well). Things could also change if later there are depth issues and they feel the need to have him as a full-time wrestler. Or he could mix the two
We hope this isn't true because it seems to leave a bit of uncertainty towards his future as an in-ring performer. While we don't doubt that he would excel in the role full-time after he's retired, it still feels like he has a lot to offer to the promotion as a performer.
#1. Hope is true: Seth Rollins pitching new names for his faction
Seth Rollins and his faction have been an important part of Monday Night RAW since the end of 2019 and early 2020, where he's had the likes of The AoP, [Buddy] Murphy, and his latest recruit - the 22-year old Austin Theory.
According to Tom Colohue in his latest video, Seth Rollins has pitched multiple names to join his faction:
Seth Rollins has been speaking recently about growing his faction and he has pitched a number of names to WWE management. I can't imagine all of those names, I surely won't even know all of the names that have been pitched. I'm sure we'll hear about them in interviews in the future, but I'm very excited to see who we get because he does have an interesting benchmark of talent who are very talented people but really don't have the experience at this level. He's a very experienced man himself and he has a lot to offer but it will be interesting to see who comes next. He has pitched a number of names.
We hope this is true because there are a few superstars who could benefit from being in that spot. Austin Theory and Murphy are just two names and while we understand that it wouldn't make sense to keep adding members (like the nWo did in the late 1990s), a few select superstars would be ideal for that spot.
Moreover, the fact that he's a "Messiah" with a religious-like undertone means that he can still recruit many followers while adding to his character. But the fewer superstars there are, the more likely they are to benefit in the long run.
#1. Hope isn't true: Big SummerSlam match delayed again?
Bayley has been the WWE SmackDown Women's Champion for a long time now. If you forget the one-week reign that Charlotte Flair had in between, Bayley has essentially been the SmackDown Women's Champion for over a year.
The endgame of her alliance with Sasha Banks was ultimately to lead to a match, originally planned for WrestleMania 36. However, given the circumstances and a minor injury to Sasha Banks, the feud was pushed further, with SummerSlam then reportedly set as the end goal.
According to WrestleTalk, the feud could be pushed even further as the company is considering other options for the show:
WrestleTalk has learned that WWE wants to extend the feud, and sees more potential in drawing it out as opposed to rushing it. Whether this means WWE changes their plans remains to be seen, and our sources have said that while the match isn’t completely off the table right now, the company is considering other options for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the show.
We hope this isn't true because SummerSlam would be a suitable place and setting for their meeting. However, we do understand WWE's logic behind delaying it and waiting for a bigger payoff.
