5 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: WWE possibly planning to re-hire 2 fired stars after 3 years, John Cena's father says Champion could become a "mid-carder" post-WrestleMania

Welcome to this week's edition of WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. We're in the final week of WWE programming before Fastlane 2021, while AEW bounced back from a controversial ending to the Revolution pay-per-view.

The road to WrestleMania is getting closer to its conclusion, and things are getting exciting. Here are some of the top WWE and wrestling rumors of the week:

#5. Hope is true: WWE planning to re-hire Enzo Amore and Big Cass?

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This is an interesting one. Enzo Amore was fired from WWE while he was the Cruiserweight Champion - owing to legal issues that he was eventually cleared of. The problem wasn't the issue in itself, but the fact that he hadn't reported it to WWE while it was happening.

It was a mucky situation, but he had to say goodbye to his WWE career just as he was picking up steam as a singles star. Big Cass was injured at that time, and when he returned in 2018, he started a feud with Daniel Bryan.

It didn't last too long, and after reports of issues backstage and mistakes that Big Cass made, he was released soon after. That marked the end of Enzo and Cass' WWE run. They were separated in 2017, but many fans felt that they both had the potential to do big things as a tag team.

There were reports from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in the summer of 2019 that Triple H wanted to bring Enzo and Cass back to NXT for the USA Network premiere and he intended to make them top stars.

With more rumors circulating recently, Big Cass addressed it, stating that he hasn't received any communication, but that he is sure that his name was brought up in WWE meetings:

"If there was any truth to it, it was never spoken about with me, because I was blindsided by that. I think someone would've maybe called me. But I'm sure maybe there was a meeting where maybe our name came up and that's all anybody needed to be like, 'Oh, there we go,' and put that out there."

We hope this is true because Enzo and Big Cass deserve another shot in WWE. They were one of the most popular tag teams, and rather than splitting them, WWE could make big money from their tag team run.

#5. Hope isn't true: John Cena Sr. on the rumored WWE title match outcome for WrestleMania 37

The WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 37 will feature Bobby Lashley defending the title in one of the two nights. His rumored opponent is Drew McIntyre, and there have been rumors and speculations that WWE could prematurely end Lashley's title reign in favor of giving Drew McIntyre a coronation in front of the fans at WrestleMania 37.

John Cena Sr. appeared on Boston Wrestling MWF’s Dan Mirade where they discussed the potential Lashley-McIntyre match at WrestleMania for the WWE title, as well as the rumor that The All Mighty will lose the Championship.

John Cena Sr. gave his honest thoughts and revealed that he hates the idea of Bobby Lashley losing the WWE title at WrestleMania, as he feels he will become a mid-carder again.

"If they did [book Drew McIntyre to win], Lashley would become a mid-carder. If they pull the rug out from under him now at WrestleMania, he's gonna go right down to mid-card, and then it'll be bye bye, Bobby. That's the sad part about it. You take an athlete of that caliber, doing the job, and then bing, bing, bing. It just doesn't make sense."

We hope this isn't true because Bobby Lashley deserves a lengthy run with the WWE title. One could argue that both the World Championships shouldn't change hands at WrestleMania 37.

#4. Hope is true: Backstage reaction in WWE to Christian Cage's AEW move

Christian added 'Cage' back to his name after he left WWE and joined AEW. It was an unexpected next step in his career - one that was halted for years after he retired.

Since Christian appeared at the 2021 Royal Rumble, many WWE fans expected him to be a part of Edge's WrestleMania storyline against Roman Reigns. According to a report from Fightful, some eyebrows were raised after no mention was made of Christian this past month by WWE.

While WWE officials weren't too happy with his decision to do business with AEW, he has a positive perception backstage, and is pleased with the next step of his career:

The report clearly stated that WWE had no one else to blame for Christian joining AEW as the company could not lock the legend down to a contract. A talent, whose name was not disclosed, spoke highly of Christian and expressed happiness at the fact that the WWE Legend is pleased with the latest step in his career.

We hope this is true because Christian Cage having a good AEW run further proves to younger wrestlers that WWE isn't the end-all-be-all of professional wrestling/sports entertainment.

#4. Hope isn't true: Why Asuka has been away from WWE TV

Asuka has been one of WWE's most important stars in the pandemic era, but there could be a risk of her missing WrestleMania 37. A few weeks ago, Asuka competed in a tag team match and suffered a legitimate strike to the head by Shayna Baszler, knocking out a tooth and reportedly suffering a concussion as well.

Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio reported that the concussion is the reason why the RAW Women's Champion has been out of action.

Sportskeeda's Levi Grayshon wrote:

The kick that Asuka suffered has been brought up on RAW, with Charlotte Flair mentioning on television that "The Empress of Tomorrow" is currently unable to compete. Flair is rumored to be facing Asuka for the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37. WWE has not officially commented on the nature of Asuka's injury.

We hope this isn't true because it's a devastating time for it to happen. Asuka has worked hard all year and deserves to defend the RAW Women's title at WrestleMania 37. However, if she's not ready, we don't blame WWE for potentially pulling her off the card.

#3. Hope is true: The reason why Vince McMahon doesn't appear on WWE TV anymore

Vince McMahon is perhaps the greatest heel in WWE history. His presence in the Attitude Era as an on-screen authority figure significantly helped boost the ratings and he is an iconic figure, no matter how controversial.

However, in the last eight-plus years, Vince McMahon has drastically cut down the amount of screen-time he has. He has only returned for special occasions and a few storylines for brief-but-impactful appearances.

This seems to be on purpose, and Bruce Prichard revealed why Vince McMahon doesn't appear on WWE TV as much anymore:

"Most of the time he had to be talked into them. He would always start with somebody else, and, ‘No God damnit. I’m too old to be on TV. I don’t wanna be on TV. Put somebody else on there that — I’m not gonna make the live events. Get somebody on there that’s gonna do that.’ And then, 'Okay, well what if we did this?' So he usually took a little bit of talking." (H/T POST Wrestling)

We hope this is true because it's the right decision for Vince McMahon to make. There was a time that came when he was no longer needed on WWE TV, and he stopped becoming a regular on-screen figure after that.

#3. Hope isn't true: WWE pushing for an extremely large crowd at WrestleMania 37?

WrestleMania 37 will take place at the Raymond James Stadium and will be WWE's first show in front of fans after 13 months. It's a huge occasion, and given that the NFL hosted The SuperBowl at the same venue earlier this year, WWE saw the event as a big source of reference.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the NFL only hosted a limited capacity of 25,000 fans, with the rest being filled up by cardboard cutouts. It was assumed that 25,000 will be the crowd for both days at WrestleMania 37.

While that isn't as large as the usual 70,000+ crowd at WrestleMania, this is understandable. 25,000 fans, to begin with, is a big boost for the WrestleMania show.

However, Dave Meltzer of WON revealed that WWE is pushing to fill 75% of the stadium - which would be 45,000 fans each day.

Sportskeeda's James Sullivan wrote:

In terms of specific numbers, a 75 percent crowd at the Raymond James Stadium, discounting the space required for the stage, wrestling ring, and equipment, is approximately 45,000. Hence, the combined attendance for this year's WrestleMania across Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11 could be approximately 90,000 WWE fans.

We hope this isn't true because even 25,000 fans is a big upgrade from having none. Given that this is WWE's first with fans again, it should start slowly before governments allow the easing of restrictions and eventually, a larger crowd.

#2. Hope is true: WWE planning a Last Man Standing Match for Fastlane

Sheamus and Drew McIntyre faced off eight days after the latter lost the WWE title. While Drew McIntyre won on the first occasion clean, the second one ended with some controversy and a non-finish.

The two men are reportedly expected to have their blow-off match at Fastlane - and it will be a high-stakes bout. According to Bryan Alvarez on WOL, WWE could be planning a Last Man Standing match at Fastlane to determine Bobby Lashley's WWE title challenger.

Sportskeeda's Lennard Surrao wrote:

WrestlingNews learned from sources within WWE that the Last Man Standing match could be for the number one contender's spot. This means that the winner of the Fastlane match will face Bobby Lashley in a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 37. The report adds that the scheduled WWE Championship contest for WrestleMania will be between Lashley and McIntyre.

We hope this is true because it's a good match with high-stakes - something that is desperately needed for the Fastlane pay-per-view. WWE hasn't done much to build-up the event at all even though it's just a week away.

#2. Hope isn't true: Is WWE planning to copy AEW for WrestleMania 37?

Could WWE be trying something unoriginal?

Randy Orton vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt is one of the matches that WWE is reportedly planning for WrestleMania 37. According to Dave Meltzer of WON, WWE could be copying the Exploding Barbed-Wire Match, or at least the finish to it.

AEW Revolution saw the "fireworks" moment become a dud due to technical issues. While it was deflating, Meltzer believes that WWE may try to one-up their rivals:

"They could show up AEW and all if the explosion at the end is spectacular, which really isn’t what this is about, but simply that there are so few things proven today to really move numbers and this was proven just this past week to do so. Yes, it would seem (like) copying, but if they pull it off and the explosions work, it would not have the negative of outright copying but instead the aura of doing it better."

We hope this isn't true because it feels so unnecessary. While The Fiend vs. Randy Orton being in a gimmick match isn't a bad idea, the explosions to take shots at AEW seem unnecessary.

#1. Hope is true: Five key matches that WWE has planned for WrestleMania 37

WWE is back in business for WrestleMania 37

WWE's tagline for WrestleMania 37 is "Back in business". They're referring to the fact that it will be their first show with a crowd in 13 months. It's going to be an exciting affair, and despite the rumors that WWE is "back to square one", that doesn't seem to be the case.

Dave Meltzer of WON revealed that WWE has five key matches planned for WrestleMania 37, including Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre:

"The key matches at WrestleMania appear to be a lock, with Roman Reigns vs. Edge for the Universal title, Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE title, Randy Orton vs. The Fiend in some kind of a gimmick match, Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon, Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown women’s title all either announced or a clear direction."

We hope this is true because these are good matches for the two-day WrestleMania card. We hope that WWE doesn't complicate the other rivalries as they have with Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair.

#1. Hope isn't true: Andrade's WWE status

As first reported by WrestlingInc, Andrade asked for his release from WWE recently. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter confirmed that his request was denied by WWE:

Andrade asked for his WWE release earlier this week, but was denied. Wrestling Inc. was first to report that he asked for his release at the Raw tapings this past Monday with Dave Meltzer confirming both the request and denial.

To add to that, a report from PWInsider revealed that Andrade looked miserable backstage on RAW recently:

A person close to the situation told PWInsider that Andrade looked 'absolutely terrible' this past Monday on RAW.

We hope this isn't true because it's a waste of a superstar like Andrade. He was poised to be WWE's next big Latino superstar, but their treatment of a legend like Rey Mysterio says enough.

As bad as it is, we give Andrade his props for wanting to take a chance outside of WWE. It would be easier to simply collect his paycheck from WWE, but he is young and has bigger ambitions.

We're sure that WWE will eventually release Andrade before his contract runs out. That is, of course, unless they decide to push him.

Edited by Kaushik Das