5 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: Surprising backstage name responsible for Drew McIntyre's push, Reason behind backstage heat between AJ Styles and Paul Heyman revealed?

Welcome to this week's edition of wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't! We're coming off a Backlash PPV - one main-evented by the so-called "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever".

Regardless of what you might think, WWE has always shown that the wheel keeps spinning and that's exactly what's happening in this unprecedented pandemic era. Before we jump right into the rumors of this week, let's recollect last week's biggest news and rumors from the world of pro-wrestling!

#5. Hope is true: Another McMahon pushed for Drew McIntyre backstage

Drew McIntyre has been the most pushed Superstar in WWE this year. He was built up well at the end of the year and protected throughout, winning the Royal Rumble, securing his main event spot at WrestleMania 36, and defeating Brock Lesnar to become the WWE Champion.

Now at the highest point of his career, it appears that Drew McIntyre has a great impression backstage. Tom Colohue said in his latest video that it was Paul Heyman who pushed for Drew McIntyre backstage along with Vince McMahon who wanted to fulfill his prophecy from 2009 about him becoming a World Champion. but it was also Shane McMahon who pushed for the Scotsman:

It is possible now that Vince McMahon would look to pivot the Championship sooner rather than later. We've been told a lot of times that there is a lot of faith shown in Drew McIntyre, and that comes down to Shane McMahon as well who has been advocating for Drew in the same way as Paul Heyman."

We hope this is true because Shane McMahon's backing would mean big things for McIntyre. It appears as though aligning with The Prodigal Son might have paid dividends for Drew McIntyre, who is coming off a win against Bobby Lashley at Backlash 2020.

#5. Hope isn't true: Reported backstage heat between Paul Heyman and AJ Styles

Paul Heyman and AJ Styles might not see eye-to-eye anymore

AJ Styles' move to SmackDown recently was a combination of multiple factors. He didn't hide how disappointed he was about his best friends Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson getting released from WWE, going as far as blaming himself for it happening.

However, it seems that there was more than what meets the eye. Tom Colohue mentioned that Styles didn't "feel at home" on RAW and was frustrated creatively as well.

Dave Meltzer revealed on the Wrestling Observer Forum that AJ Styles felt Paul Heyman was to blame for not sticking up for Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson:

"Actually the reason was that he was furious that Gallows & Anderson were fired. Blamed Heyman. Classic case of JR/JJ/Laurinaitis syndrome. Vince is the one who made the decision but I suppose he felt Heyman could have fought him on it. So he wanted to go to the side where the guy in charge isn't fighting Vince on something like that either."

We hope this isn't true because it could be a case of misdirected frustration. Paul Heyman wasn't the one who made the call about any of the releases, so we doubt there was much he could have done, to begin with.

#4. Hope is true: News on Velveteen Dream's possible move to RAW or SmackDown

Velveteen Dream could have a bright future

Velveteen Dream is undeniably one of the best homegrown talents that WWE has had this past decade. The young Patrick Clark Jr. is yet to turn 25 and in a few years, he's gone from Tough Enough reject to an NXT success story.

He was the NXT North American Champion and has been an NXT Championship contender on multiple occasions. After losing to Adam Cole at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, the assumption was that his run in NXT is over.

Dave Meltzer noted on the Wrestling Observer Radio that as of now, there are no plans for Velveteen Dream to switch to RAW or SmackDown

So Velveteen Dream is not coming up. You know we were talking after the TakeOver show that maybe he lost, so he's coming up to the main roster. I was pretty much told that's not happening, now. I mean someday, of course, it will happen. It's not in the plans today.

We hope this is true because Velveteen Dream isn't required on RAW or SmackDown now, with Matt Riddle set to debut on SmackDown and Dominik Dijakovic rumored to move brands as well. It's better for him to stick around in NXT and grow before making the transition.

#4. Hope isn't true: WWE Superstars concerned about their push after Paul Heyman firing

Paul Heyman was recently removed as the Executive Director of RAW, with rumors from people backstage indicating that it was a "long time coming". Bruce Prichard has now taken over the reins for both RAW and SmackDown's creative side and this could possibly mean the end of a push for multiple stars.

According to Dave Meltzer on WON, there has been concern among a few Superstars backstage who got a push because of Paul Heyman.

Sportskeeda's Kishan Prasad wrote:

Dave Meltzer, in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, brought to the WWE Universe's attention that RAW Superstars have a rising concern regarding the light in which WWE sees them. These concerns were born due to Paul Heyman's firing recently. Most of these WWE Superstars were never given a national push before Heyman took charge of RAW's creative.

We hope this isn't true, but ultimately, it's hard to blame the Superstars for believing that their push could be in jeopardy.

#3. Hope is true: A logical reason for Shayna Baszler's absence

Shayna Baszler has been virtually absent from WWE TV since Money in the Bank 2020, where she failed to capture the briefcase. While she challenged for the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36, it seems like there are no plans for her to re-enter the title picture just yet.

Dave Meltzer mentioned on the Wrestling Observer Radio that she's not in the mix right now:

As far as her not being around there’s kinda no reason for her to be around because the program was Asuka and Nia Jax. The next program is going to be Charlotte Flair. At some point, Shayna was going to be back in that mix, but it wasn’t going to be right now.”

He did, however, add that she's being kept away so that she's protected and that something will be done with her down the line.

“Her not being on TV may just be — keep her off TV so somebody doesn’t try to beat her when they don’t need to beat her if you know what I mean, because we still want to do something with her down the line.”

We hope this is true because it's a logical reason to keep someone off TV while not overexposing them.

#3. Hope isn't true: Apollo Crews' push in jeopardy?

While there are a few names who benefited greatly from Paul Heyman's role backstage on RAW, Apollo Crews is one Superstar whose stock shot up rapidly since April. He was reportedly moved to RAW due to Paul Heyman handpicking him and he's been utilized for the first time in five years.

According to Tom Colohue, Apollo Crews is one name who could be in jeopardy following Paul Heyman's removal as the Executive Director of RAW:

"A lot of people who were pushed by Paul Heyman in his time in that role, are likely to suffer now... Ricochet is someone we've already seen had the rug pulled out from under him. Apollo Crews is apparently someone that Vince McMahon really isn't a fan of, and we could see this push could end sooner rather than later."

We hope this isn't true because Apollo Crews has earned the right to a sustained push. Ultimately, the big litmus test will be when crowds return and then WWE will take note of how he gets over.

#2. Hope is true: Backstage perception of Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan is one of the more interesting names in the women's division. She's essentially a homegrown talent and has been dubbed by many as a future Women's Champion. Sean Ross Sapp spoke about this on his Q&A Podcast of Fightful Select, where he discussed Liv Morgan's ceiling as a performer.

According to SRS, Morgan is well-liked backstage and has a high ceiling. However, he attributed her lack of success to WWE having no long-term plans for her:

I think her ceiling is multiple-time world champion. She works her a** off! Everybody that I talked to likes her, and yeah, I do think that it's died down because they didn't have s*** planned out for her long-term and it's frustrating. They give these people vignettes, so that they can bring them back and then they don't have plans for them.

We hope the part about her being well-liked backstage is true. As for WWE having no long-term plans for her, it's hardly a rumor. The fact that she's been so inconsistently featured shows that WWE isn't fully committed to her yet. However, we believe that her time will come.

#2. Hope isn't true: Goldberg and Brock Lesnar reportedly unhappy with Matt Riddle's 'unprofessional tactic'

An old photo of Brock Lesnar and Goldberg

Matt Riddle has gotten a lot of flak for his decision to call out Brock Lesnar and Goldberg. He's had to confront both Superstars and was told that neither match would happen.

Dave Meltzer was discussing an "unwritten rule" in WWE where Superstars can't attack each other on social media unless they're building to an actual match. He used the example of Matt Riddle:

The thing with WWE and it's weird though because in WWE the unwritten rule is that if go you after somebody in public on the internet in your company or in somebody else's company, you're not supposed to do it, unless you're building up a match, in which case, of course, you're supposed to do it at that point. So, if you're building up a match, it makes sense but if you're not building up a match, like with Matt Riddle and Goldberg and Matt Riddle and Lesnar.

He revealed why Goldberg and Lesnar were annoyed at Matt Riddle:

You know Lesnar and Goldberg were mad at Matt Riddle because it was like, he was doing his own business or whatever like, building his own feud but it's not a feud that's going to go anywhere, and they thought it was unprofessional for him to do it.

We hope this isn't true because Riddle deserves the Lesnar match at the very least. He's a top name in WWE and it's not always bad to be outspoken.

#1. Hope is true: Possible twist in Jeff Hardy-Sheamus storyline?

It seems as though there's going to be yet another twist in the Jeff Hardy-Sheamus storyline. While Sheamus has been publicly making fun of Hardy's past issues with DUI, he was also implicated as the man who framed Hardy in his "accident" with Elias.

The commentators and production team were reportedly told to specifically mention the attacker as a man with a red beard and red hair, and Paul Davis of Wrestlingnews.co noted that this could be to set up the return of Sami Zayn.

Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:

Paul Davis noted that Sami Zayn is another Superstar who also has red hair and a red beard. The report states that the former Intercontinental Champion will make his WWE TV return soon and it was speculated that he could be revealed as the real attacker instead of Sheamus.

We hope this is true because it would be a great way to re-introduce Sami Zayn to television. Moreover, it's a fresh and interesting feud to go forward with.

#1. Hope isn't true: Edge reportedly suffered an injury at Backlash 2020

Whatever you might think of the tagline given to Edge vs Randy Orton at Backlash, there's no denying that the two legends worked hard to give the best match that they could. However, it may have come at a cost.

Sean Ross Sapp, in a Fightful Select exclusive, revealed that Edge suffered an injury while filming the Backlash main event against Randy Orton. Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:

Based on what backstage sources in the company told Fightful, Edge reportedly suffered a torn triceps injury. However, the injury can't be confirmed until WWE, Edge, or his doctor released an official statement.

We hope this isn't true because it could push Edge's possibly planned SummerSlam appearance. Given how frequently Edge has been appearing, it's not safe to rule out the possibility of him being planned for a big blockbuster SummerSlam clash.

Given that the scores are tied at 1-1, a trilogy could be in the works. However, it all depends on how serious Edge's reported tricep injury is.

Edited by Zaid Khan