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WWE offered its final PPV of the decade and the overwhelming response hasn't been all that positive.
Disconcerting reports of a potentially serious injury suffered by Kairi Sane have dominated the news in the aftermath of the PPV. We have an update on her current status and condition.
Two powerful WWE officials were surprisingly not present backstage at TLC as well, which may or may not have affected the quality of the show.
Elsewhere, there was a report about WWE not adding a big title match at TLC.
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In addition to speculation regarding TLC, there were interesting stories about Ric Flair, Goldberg, Paul Heyman and a new title deign.
So without any further delay, here are the biggest WWE rumors doing the rounds:
#7. Ric Flair on being medically cleared to get physical, Vince McMahon not allowing him to take a bump at Crown Jewel
Ric Flair was a guest on WrestlingInc's WINCLY podcast and the WWE Hall of Famer opened up about his current physical condition.
The 16-time World Champion claimed that he felt great before revealing that he was given the medical clearance to get physical at Crown Jewel. He even revealed that Vince McMahon shot down the idea of the Nature Boy potentially getting in a physical altercation at the Saudi Arabia show, possibly with Hulk Hogan, during the Team Hogan vs. Team Flair 5-on-5 tag team match.
Flair explained that his involvement in the match would have helped get over Roman Reigns' big comeback.
Here's what the WWE Legend had to say on the podcast:
"Absolutely fantastic, I feel great. I was just with friends a couple of weeks ago, and it's taken a few years, but I'm back to normal. I'm better than I was prior to getting sick. So, certainly, someone's been watching over me and taking care of me.
I got cleared medically to do something in Saudi and then Vince nixed it. If I would have fed Roman in that huge comeback he made, or tapped Hogan, that would have been the coup de gras. You just wanna give them everything they paid for and sometimes if you're not physically involved, you feel like you're not giving everything you had if you're not physical. I have this gift that God has given me where I don't hurt anywhere, knock on wood."
While Flair may be cleared to get physical, he may not be all that keen on having a full-fledged match.
"Yes... well, no, not wrestle a match. I could get knocked down. Could I wrestle a match? Yes... but I couldn't because it would take me so long to get in that kind of shape. But I could be involved in a spot or take a bump." H/t Credit: WrestlingInc
#6. The reason why Bayley didn't defend her title at TLC
Bayley was surprisingly absent from the TLC card which featured most of the titles on the line, barring the WWE, the United States, and SmackDown Women's titles.
In an update via Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, the WWE officials felt that it was too soon to book a SmackDown Women's Championship match between Bayley and Lacey Evans.
The aforementioned title match was originally in the backstage listings to be eventually added to the card, however, WWE Creative decided to delay the match until the Royal Rumble.
Lacey Evans recently turned babyface and she is currently feuding with Bayley and Sasha Banks on SmackDown. The title contest is expected to be booked for the Royal Rumble PPV, which is scheduled to take place on January 26th, 2020.
#5. New United States title design
The United States title design has not been changed since it was reactivated back in 2003.
However, WWE may finally be altering the look of the belt.
As revealed by Belt Fan Dan on Twitter, who has broken accurate stories regarding title redesigns in the past, a brand new United States title design has already been delivered to the WWE. Beltzer added that he still doesn't know how the belt looks like.
Going by the rumor, Rey Mysterio is expected to be unveil the new title design on TV soon.
#4. Update on Buddy Murphy's push
Buddy Murphy faced Aleister Black at TLC and was defeated at the end of a solid back-and-forth contest.
Dave Meltzer opened up about the former Cruiserweight Champion's push on the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio.
Meltzer alluded to the fact that Paul Heyman still thinks highly of Murphy and the plan is to make him a key player on RAW in the future.
Murphy was nothing but a glorified enhancement talent on SmackDown but the officials on RAW see him in a different light.
Here's what Meltzer had to say about the former 205 Live Superstar:
"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. So it’s going to take some time, because when he was in 205 Live, he did very well, and then he came to SmackDown and you know, they just didn’t see anything in him. So now they are trying to do something,
You know, he’s not a key guy yet, he’s planned to be, he lost here, but that’s fine, it was a good match."
#3. Paul Heyman responsible for Goldberg's return
Goldberg's appearance on Stone Cold Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions podcast on the WWE Network was expectedly insightful.
The former WCW Champion opened up about his return to the WWE and revealed that Paul Heyman had a big role to play in his comeback to the company in 2016.
Goldberg bluntly stated that his return would not have happened without Paul Heyman. The former Universal Champion also said that he was indebted to Paul Heyman for his creative inputs and that he trusts the Executive Director of RAW with his career.
“If it was not for Heyman, my comeback would not have happened. Not that he made the call to make it, it’s just that creatively that’s part of my deal, right? It’s not the time for a booker to come in and try to learn about you. We have to know what worked and apply it immediately. There is no trial and error. I trust him [Heyman] exponentially with my career.”
Goldberg also admitted that he felt weird when he lost to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. He elaborated on the feeling by saying the following:
"Is this how I lose? Am I doing it right? Because it happened so infrequently. It was just weird. When I lose, I feel like I’m… I’m completely… I don’t know what to do, it’s weird. Immediately, I’m just trying to play it right. Like, how do I act? It’s weird, so how am I supposed to react? It’s just a weird deal.” H/t Credit:
Danny Hart of Sportskeeda
Goldberg last wrestled for the WWE at SummerSlam earlier this year but we may see more of the WWE Hall of Famer in the future as he is open to return for the right program.
#2. Kairi Sane medical update
TLC ended with a major scare as Kairi Sane reportedly suffered a concussion during the main event of the PPV.
Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue reached out to his sources in WWE and provided a positive update on her condition.
While Sane's recovering going according to plan, she has not been medically cleared for the RAW after TLC.
Colohue stated the following:
Hearing good news about Kairi Sane's condition this morning. I'm being told she "wasn't there during checkup" but that she's recovering well. At this point not cleared to wrestle pending a full assessment but she seems cheerful enough, if disappointed with herself.#wwe #wwetlc
An updated report from Pro Wrestling Sheet revealed that Sane was reportedly knocked out within the first few minutes of the match. Becky Lynch was seen calling audibles during the bout as Sane's involvement was reduced.
As of this writing, Sane has not been cleared to wrestle on RAW.
The Kabuki Warrior took to Twitter to convey the message that she is doing okay with a thumbs up.
#1. Triple H and Vince McMahon missed TLC
As reported by John Pollock of Post Wrestling, Vince McMahon and Triple H were reportedly absent backstage at TLC.
The official reason wasn't revealed, however, speculation is that the Game and the WWE Boss could have been busy with their duties towards managing NXT and XFL respectively.
The report also stated that McMahon and Triple H got in touch with the WWE officials at the Target Center before the PPV.
Regarding RAW, we still don't know whether Triple H and Vince McMahon will be present on the fallout episode.
