5 wrestling rumors we hope are true and 5 we hope aren't: Megastar to return to WWE in October, AEW makes a mistake with Moxley?

Welcome to the second edition of "wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope are not"! Last week, we began a series recapping some of the biggest scoops in wrestling and gave our takes as to which we hope were true and which we hope weren't.

Also read: 5 reasons why Roman Reigns is planning to transition out of WWE in 2 years

This week has been an extremely interesting one for WWE. As you'll see through the slides, the rumours going about this week are very Paul Heyman-centric, particularly since he just began his role as Executive Producer of Monday Night RAW.

Naturally, there was a big difference seen in the eyes of many fans and minus a couple of hiccups, the episode received general praise. It's definitely a good sign to start off with, but we must note that with Heyman (and even Bischoff, to some extent), the vision he has will only be implemented over a long-term period of time. As for Bischoff, he will handle creative but he has mainly been hired due to his experience in dealing with TV executives.

Also read: 5 major things that will happen if Roman Reigns leaves WWE in 2 years

#5. We hope is true: Ronda Rousey wants to work with Paul Heyman from October

Ronda Rousey is keen on returning soon, so it seems

Our very own insider Tom Colohue reported that Ronda Rousey's planned return may happens sooner than expected. While WrestleMania 35 was expected to be her final match, Paul Heyman being in charge may change that, particularly due to their mutual liking of each other.

Colohue's source stated:

“A lot has changed with Raw since WrestleMania. Banks is MIA so Becky’s leading there but Heyman coming back is a big deal. He likes working with Rousey and she likes working with him.”

Rousey was very open about the fact that Heyman helped her in her promos. She likely feels as though Heyman is more capable of bringing the best out of her. And we agree.

#5. We hope isn't true: The reason why Braun Strowman was shown to suffer a serious injury on RAW

If you watched RAW, the most memorable segment of the night, apart from AJ Styles' heel turn is the fact that Braun Strowman sent Bobby Lashley crashing through the LED screen, causing sparks and pops.

They were both stretchered out of the arena and it was reported that Braun Strowman had an injury. It seems as though with WWE confirming that he has a "ruptured spleen", it's a way to write him off television, potentially confirming that he did have an injury after all.

If that is the case, then it really is bad luck for Strowman. While he hasn't been getting pushed lately, being out for some time might derail his momentum. There have been contradictory reports that the injury is a work, but we doubt that.

#4. We hope is true: Sheamus ready for an in-ring return

There has been a lot of speculation for the last few years about Sheamus' in-ring career. Ever since the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that he is dealing with spinal stenosis (the same injury that ended the careers of Edge and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin'), Sheams has been very secretive about his health.

Even when I asked him about it in New Delhi in late 2016, both he and Cesaro instantly shut me down. It was believed that his time with Cesaro as a part of The Bar was mainly to protect him.

Batista seemingly revealed on the Wrestling Sheet Podcast that Sheamus is ready to go and that the only reason he's not back is due to no creative plans for him. If Sheamus doesn't have much left, we hope that he gets the best out of his upcoming WWE return run.

#4. We hope isn't true: The reason behind the Mike-Maria Kanellis segment on RAW

It wasn't a great RAW debut for Mike Kanellis. In a rather bizarre part during his & Maria's mixed tag team match against Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch, Maria humiliated Mike Kanellis by telling him that she's pregnant and that he wasn't "man enough" to impregnate her, later adding insult to injury that "The Man" (Becky Lynch) should have impregnated her instead.

Kanellis was further humiliated as he tapped to Becky Lynch and PWInsider revealed that the reason behind it could possibly have been that Maria told WWE about her pregnancy only after signing her and Mike's 5 year contract.

We sincerely hope that it isn't true and Maria Kanellis responded to it as well, slamming wrestling sites. We would like to give her the benefit of doubt in this case despite the sketchiness of the situation.

#3. We hope is true: Heyman wants to end authority figure storylines ASAP

Paul Heyman reportedly denied the idea of being an on-screen General Manager on RAW, insisting that he wants the entire concept of authority figures to die down ASAP. The Wrestling Observer Radio's Dave Meltzer reported that Heyman had no interest in being an authority figure, stating:

“He was very adamant about not wanting to be an authority figure on television. That’s one of his key things. The authority figure thing has been played out years and years and years ago, and it’s one of the changes that he wants. No authority figure stuff on television.”

If true, then we definitely commend Heyman for being persistent about it. Hopefully they listen to him and cut off authority figures from TV unless absolutely needed (see: William Regal in NXT). Hopefully, WWE ends Shane McMahon's run on top soon.

#3. We hope isn't true: The Undertaker to have more appearances going forward

Cageside Seats reported that The Undertaker is set to have more appearances in WWE going forward. He is currently in a storyline where he's playing an ally to Roman Reigns against Shane McMahon (his WrestleMania 32 opponent) and Drew McIntyre.

The idea floating around has been that The Deadman handpicked Drew McIntyre to be an opponent, so it's very possible that we could see McIntyre and Undertaker go head-to-head at SummerSlam.

While that is obviously a big marquee match which can help establish McIntyre, we hope that we don't see The Undertaker after Extreme Rules because he has proven time and again that it's far too late for him in the game and he's well past his prime.

We understand that The Goldberg match at Super ShowDown would want to make him "right his wrong", but he has no need to do that.

#2. We hope is true: Ricochet in line for a huge push

AJ Styles and Ricochet had a really good main event on RAW for the second consecutive week. Given that Styles won the prior week clean, he fairly earned a title shot against Ricochet.

While he secured the pin at first, the decision was reversed due to Ricochet's foot being under the rope. Ricochet eventually won and post-match, Styles turned heel by viciously assaulting him along with Gallows & Anderson.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Ricochet is in line for a big push going forward. They later mentioned that Paul Heyman is very high on Ricochet and wants to see him become a huge star.

And simply based on experience of watching for years - you know that when a star of the Styles' caliber turns on Ricochet, it's because there are huge plans. That's great and we hope it's true.

#2. We hope isn't true: No optimistic backstage reaction to Paul Heyman arriving

Are people backstage happy about the change?

You've probably read and heard enough by now that there are several WWE superstars who revealed low backstage morale and a complete creative disarray in the roster. The news of Heyman arriving as an Executive Producer has made fans very optimistic about the future of Monday Nights in WWE.

However, Fightful spoke to wrestlers personally and revealed various mixed responses about Heyman arriving. There is reportedly no optimism because he's still ultimately working under Vince McMahon. Some of the responses included:

One wrestler said it was “wasted energy “to even think anything really changing in WWE.

Another wrestler said they had a “wait and see” approach. They didn’t trust Vince McMahon to allow anyone else have creative say without being touched.

Another wrestler mentioned he thought the change was “building up hope that won’t live up to the hype”. They didn’t expect anything to drastically change.

There was one positive response:

Another wrestler said that Paul Heyman has already proved helpful in his previous role, and has went out of his way to help talent.

Naturally, the response in interviews are different but we do hope that the roster gets motivated by Heyman's creative take over.

#1. We hope is true: Sasha Banks to "slot right back in" to WWE programming upon return

After all those months about rumours with regards to unhappiness backstage, throwing a tantrum backstage at WrestleMania 35 and more, Sasha Banks went on a hiatus. Meanwhile, Bayley has taken a different path and made a career-changing move to SmackDown Live.

In a matter of two months, Bayley regained momentum, won the Money in the Bank contract and even became SmackDown Women's Champion. She has been going strong and as for Banks, our very own Tom Colohue reported that Banks is expected to slot right back into WWE programming when she returns. He revealed the messages sent to him with regards to Banks:

“A few people asked for time off after WrestleMania. Sasha Banks has worked extremely long and extremely hard. She’s earned it.”

“They’ve gone with Bayley and she’s doing well. When Sasha comes back she’ll slot right back in.”

With many main female stars injured such as Ruby Riott, Ronda Rousey and Nia Jax, there couldn't be a more perfect time for Banks to return.

#1. We hope isn't true: Jon Moxley's 'opt-out' clause in AEW

Why does Jon Moxley have an opt-out clause?

As we know, Jon Moxley signed a 3-year contract with All Elite Wrestling. However, Rajah.com reported that Jon Moxley has an 'opt-out' clause in his contract in which he can use after one year if he wants to.

This means that Moxley has a contract with AEW but can still get out of it when he pleases once a year is over. It's a huge risk taken by Cody Rhodes and Tony Khan, especially since their first few years are going to be extremely pivotal if they want to challenge the big leagues of wrestling.

Perhaps it's a matter of trust and Cody assured Moxley that if he wasn't creatively satisfied, he could leave. With that being said, Moxley might be getting a lot more creative freedom than what we know. However, we still think the opt-out clause was a mistake on AEW's part.

Edited by Shiven Sachdeva