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We've had another week full of exciting rumors in the world of professional wrestling. We've had a number of rumors regarding the Royal Rumble, some of which got us excited while the others definitely didn't. Could a 11-time world champion return during the WWE Royal Rumble match?
We also have rumors of WWE making a big move to sign a former Impact Wrestling star as well as the possibility of Braun Strowman getting a new tag-team partner.
#5 Hope is true: Paul Heyman has big plans for Buddy Murphy
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After initially calling Buddy Murphy to the main roster on the Blue brand, WWE didn't do anything with the former Cruiserweight Champion and his appearances on television were few and far between. Things have been a lot better for Murphy since moving to RAW in the Superstar Shake-Up. He has been featured prominently on television and Dave Meltzer recently reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Paul Heyman has big plans for the Australian Superstar.
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Here's what Meltzer had to say:
"Murphy is getting pushed now, but when he was on SmackDown, he was a non-existent person and he always lost.So to rehab a guy, it takes, you know, when you had a guy who was buried underground, and you know, he was on one side where the side thought that there was nothing to the guy, and he goes to another side where the guy who is the showrunner, whatever the guy is, the booker, the creator (Paul Heyman), whatever, thinks really highly of him.
And you know, he is really good and then you start pushing him. It takes a while, you just can’t snap your fingers and go, 'hey, forget everything that you saw for a year when we did nothing with him."
Buddy Murphy has repeatedly proved how good a talent he is inside the ring. Let's hope that WWE doesn't give up on his push prematurely.
#5 Hope isn't true: Finn Balor isn't a priority for Vince McMahon
It came as a huge shock when Finn Balor made his return to WWE NXT earlier this year. Since then, Balor has turned heel and is easily one of the most over Superstars on the Black and Yellow brand. Balor's last main roster appearance on WWE was at SummerSlam where he was squashed by the debuting Fiend in a matter of minutes.
It's now being reported that the reason Balor was squashed at SummerSlam was that Vince McMahon doesn't see him as a priority. Here's what Wade Keller had to say on his recent podcast:
"Finn Balor, he is better on NXT. He is a smaller guy and if he was not a top priority for Vince McMahon when he lost to Bray. Moving him to NXT and having him compete with wrestlers more his size makes him more palatable to be a heel. It's tougher to do on WWE's main roster - RAW or SmackDown - where the wrestlers are typically bigger than those on NXT."
#4 Hope is true: Edge could make his WWE return at the Royal Rumble
Rumors of Edge making his return at the WWE Royal Rumble 2020 has gathered steam recently. The initial report on Edge's return was made by Mike Johnson of PWInsider. Here's what Johnson had to say:
“We've heard that Edge signed a new deal with WWE that has a pretty nice upside. We also reported a few months ago he was in Pittsburgh for WWE business and that's where WWE Wellness Policy head Dr. Joseph Maroon is headquartered. My gut feeling is we'll see Edge in the Royal Rumble as a surprise (as that seems like the perfect place to make a big splash with a return for Wrestlemania season) and possibly even see him do a few matches on major events.”
In spite of Edge coming out on Twitter to deny any talks of a return, Johnson has noted that there was still persistent talk backstage regarding a potential return for Edge. Let's hope that this one is true, especially if it's part-time and Edge is saved for special occasions.
#4 Hope isn't true: Tyson Fury could be Braun Strowman's next tag-team partner
Braun Strowman and Tyson Fury's brief feud ended with the two big men burying the hatchet and setting aside their differences. It now looks like WWE could be set to take the relationship between Fury and Strowman to the next level by making the two men tag-team partners. Fury is still green in the ring and WWE sees him teaming with the 'Monster Among Men' as a great way for Fury to get experience in the ring while not being too exposed in Singles matches.
Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda first reported about Strowman and Fury potentially joining forces as a tag-team. Here's what Tom had to say on the matter:
“Tyson Fury seems to be making a strong case (to face Brock Lesnar), every outlet he’s spoken to, he has been talking about it, to be fair, if that’s the question, he would.Whether or not Tyson Fury is the one to challenge Brock Lesnar is a question in itself. Tyson Fury is still quite green and that could be a problem. That probably is why he’s being paired up with Braun Strowman moving forward in a tag team. Both men, obviously, can work as faces and work as heels.”
While this would be a good move for Fury, we'd rather not see Strowman in another tag-team. The Monster Among Men has what it takes to be a top singles attraction in WWE but it just seems like they don't know how to use him.
#3 Hope is true: WWE have serious interest in signing Killer Kross after his departure from Impact
Killer Kross made a name for himself in Impact but recently left the company after previously expressing his dissatisfaction with his contract. With AEW now seen as pretty serious competition, WWE have reportedly wasted no time in approaching Killer Kross and look to be favorites to secure his signature.
WrestleVotes recently reported on the matter saying that WWE are set to lure Killer Kross with a big-money contract. Here's what WrestleVotes said:
“WWE’s interest level is significantly high in signing Killer Kross. Source said he should get a similar offer to that of which was extended to Hangman Page last year. No telling if Kross will sign, but WWE is definitely pursuing him, harder than they normally pursue other Fas.”
If WWE do sign Killer Kross, it's safe to say he would debut on NXT instead of RAW or SmackDown. With NXT now live on the USA network, someone of Kross' caliber will be a huge signing for the black and yellow brand.
#3 Hope isn't true: WWE could turn The Revival into a comedy act
The Revival have, in the past, asked for their release from the company. They now have just a few months left on their current contracts and have refused to sign new ones. It looks like WWE are now planning to take the tag-team in a new direction and turning them into comedy characters.
Dave Meltzer reported on this on the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and here's what he wrote:
“The booking plan on Smackdown is to turn The Revival into comedy characters. There are mixed feelings on this for obvious reasons and it still may get shot down, but the deal where Wilder tripped and fell during the ring entrance was supposed to be the start of it. The Revival only has a few months left on their contracts and haven’t agreed to a new deal after attempting to get a release months ago.”
We hope this rumor isn't true for obvious reasons. The Revival are one of the most talented tag-teams on the planet right now and turning them into a comedy act will not go down with fans. Also, this isn't the way WWE will convince them to sign a new contract.
#2 Hope is true: Shayna Baszler is an early choice to win the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble match
It's almost the end of the year and that can mean only one thing for wrestling fans, we're just about a month away from the Royal Rumble. The 2020 Royal Rumble takes place in late January and it looks like WWE has big plans for former NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler who recently dropped the title to Rhea Ripley.
As reported by Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda, WWE has penciled Baszler in as an early choice to win the 2020 Women's, Royal Rumble. According to Tom, with RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch needing fresh opponents, WWE sees Baszler as the person to feud with her going into WrestleMania season.
Here's what Tom had to say:
“Talking about the Royal Rumble, the most likely winners at the moment remain, Roman Reigns on the men's side, and sort of a new contender for the female side, Shayna Baszler,When it comes to Shayna Baszler, she is a new favourite and looking at what's happened in NXT, with Rhea Ripley winning the Championship, she is definitely a very strong contender. Becky Lynch might have to get eyes at the back of her head. She is out of competitors at this point, there is an outside chance that we may see Nia Jax back soon and she may be a contender to take on Becky Lynch, but Shayna seems the most likely at this point. Unless, of course, Asuka wins at the Royal Rumble."
Shayna Baszler is ready to move up to the main roster and in our opinion, she's the perfect choice to face Becky Lynch at WrestleMania.
#2 Hope isn't true: Brock Lesnar to face Cain Velazquez at the Royal Rumble
We really hope that this rumor isn't true. Brock Lesnar has already faced Cain Velazquez at WWE Crown Jewel earlier this year and to put it mildly, the match wasn't very good. We get the fact that Cain vs Brock is a big match on paper but WWE has so many better choices for challengers to Brock's WWE Championship although it does not look like the match will lead to a long-term feud between the two.
Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue said that WWE are currently looking at Velazquez to be Brock's opponent at the Royal Rumble. Here's what Tom had to say:
“There are rumors as ever of Cain Velasquez, he is rumored to be coming in for a match at the Royal Rumble, possibly against Brock Lesnar. Brock needs to wrestle someone, there isn’t a storyline so far. We will have to see how that plays out, that will probably start to be built after the Christmas season in the New Year show.Brock Lesnar will have to appear at least, to start a feud, and will undoubtedly appear on the go-home show as well. So whoever he will be feuding with, whether it be someone like Kevin Owens or Randy Orton or Cain Velasquez, we will see as that time comes. If Cain Velasquez does have a match with Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, he will be a brief one, it won’t last too long and it won’t be leading into a feud.”
Let's hope that WWE change their mind and pick someone else to face Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.
#1 Hope is true: New US title belt design incoming?
The WWE United States Championship is currently held by none other than Rey Mysterio. The WWE legend won the title from AJ Styles a few weeks ago on RAW and is set to defend it on RAW this week against the newly turned heel, Seth Rollins. One interesting caveat heading into this match is a rumor regarding the WWE United States title belt.
The current United States title belt has been in use since WWE brought back the championship way back in 2003. It looks like WWE are finally redesigning the legendary title but we don't yet know if it will be a part of the storyline in some way. We hope that this rumor is true because the title could really use a fresh look, similar to how the IC title got a redesign lately.
The rumor regarding the new title belt design was revealed by Belt Fan Dan on Twitter. He has accurately broken stories regarding redesigned title belts before. According to him, a redesigned US title belt has already been delivered to WWE. Here's what he had to say on Twitter:
#1 Hope isn't true: Roman Reigns to win the men's Royal Rumble and challenge The Fiend
Here we go again. We're just over a month away from the Royal Rumble and once again there are rumors that Roman Reigns is the early favorite to win the men's, Royal Rumble. According to Tom Colohue of Sportskeeda, WWE have penciled Reigns in as the winner of the men's Royal Rumble with him going on to challenge The Fiend for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania.
Here's what Tom Colohue had to say regarding Reigns facing The Fiend at WrestleMania:
“Talking about the Royal Rumble, the most likely winners at the moment remain Roman Reigns on the men’s side.Roman, I don’t think surprises many people, the idea that Roman is the one to take on the Fiend, despite how long the feud with Corbin has been, and I mean, it’s been going for a long time at this point. I do think Roman is best placed to move into that feud (The Fiend) in January. We’ll have to see how that plays out, The Fiend obviously is unlike anything we’ve encountered before. So a lot could happen. Roman seems to be the ideal person though.”
We hope this isn't true, based purely on the fact that Reigns will probably beat The Fiend if the two face each other at WrestleMania and WWE would probably be better off protecting The Fiend for longer, considering that he's one of the most popular Superstars in the company right now.
