Welcome to the weekly Rumor Look Back, where we look at the rumors from six months ago and see which played out as originally predicted. Let’s get right to it.
- The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter says WWE made Undertaker an offer he couldn’t refuse, financially speaking, and that’s how the company will prevent him from taking outside bookings going forward.
- We never know what independent meet & greet/interview booking Undertaker would have been like.
- The WON also says the decision to move Bayley to SmackDown Live had been the plan for some time.
- She’s still there as champion. A heel champion, which may have been a surprise six months ago.
- PW Insider notes that Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows have remained steadfast in leaving WWE later this year.
- They’re still there. (0/1)
- WWE has applied to trademark the term “WWE Stomping Grounds,” possibly for a future event, says Insider.
- That was an event last June. (1/1)
- The Observer mentions New Japan announced Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, and Kota Ibushi for the G-1 Climax tournament to help get ticket sales going in Dallas.
- They’re all in on that US expansion.
- A man wearing a mask ran in at an indie show and did a GTS this weekend, and rumors are that man was actually CM Punk.
- I wonder if he’s going to end up on Backstage on FS1. Doesn’t look like it at this point.
- Wrestling Inc claims there was a plan for Punk to unmask and show it was him but that obviously didn’t happen.
- Probably better to keep it as a mystery.
- On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer mentioned the belief within WWE is that Dean Ambrose won’t be wrestling anywhere outside of WWE and will instead be going on hiatus from pro wrestling altogether.
- WWE’s belief was dead wrong.
- WWE Backlash, which had previously been scheduled for June 16, has been cancelled, per the Observer. This could be because of the Saudi Arabia show that will run on June 7.
- This became Stomping Grounds eventually. (1/1)
- Starrcast will announce a major name sometime this week, someone Dave Meltzer says is one of the greatest wrestlers ever.
- They got Taz and Kenta Kobashi and while Kobashi definitely could be considered one of the greatest wrestlers, he’s not a major name like Undertaker, who they were replacing. (0/1)
- Following up on yesterday’s rumor about Backlash being cancelled, Wrestling Observer reports WWE’s June schedule is largely up in the air due to the still “not 100 percent” Saudi Arabia show on the 7th. That includes the unannounced NXT TakeOver planned for San Jose on June 8.
- That San Jose TakeOver never ended up happening. Later on, they had TakeOver: XXV in Connecticut instead.
- Though she’s currently listed as a SmackDown talent on WWE.com, Bryan Alvarez said on Wrestling Observer Live Becky Lynch will be a Raw Superstar after she drops the SmackDown Women’s title.
- Even though the Wild Card rule muddled everything, Becky was mainly a Raw star, holding their top title from WrestleMania forward. (1/1)
- If that was CM Punk at MKE Wrestling last Friday, it wasn’t the first time he’s appeared at an indie show under a mask, per Barstool Sports’ Robbie Fox, who says it’s happened “3 or 4 times since 2015”.
- That’s fun!
- WWE wants to make this year’s men’s Money in the Bank winner look “like a STAR”, according to WrestleVotes. The Twitter account also claims “the feeling backstage is that they have completely blown the winners & cash ins the last 2 years.”
- I’m struggling to remember who won. I’m going to look it up. Oh it was Brock. I’m not going to count it because he was already a top guy and this didn’t change anything because of the briefcase. (0/1)
- Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is currently advertising Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton, Baron Corbin vs. Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles vs. Drew McIntyre matches for July’s Extreme Rules.
- None of these were right. Roman teamed with the Undertaker to go against Drew and Shane McMahon. And Corbin and Rollins faced each other, but it was in a mixed tag including Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans. (0/3)
- On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer mentioned one of the biggest reasons Andrade moved back to SmackDown was to avoid breaking up a couple (he’s dating Charlotte Flair). Folks were apparently upset about it when he was switched to Raw. That’s also why Aleister Black moved to SmackDown, because he’s married to Andrade’s manager, Zelina Vega.
- They’re very specific about not breaking up couples, which is something they should definitely keep mind of.
- For what it’s worth, there’s speculation that Charlotte and Andrade may already be engaged to be married, per TMZ. That could further explain the move back to SmackDown.
- She shot down that rumor. (0/1)
- Jeff Hardy is apparently dealing with an injury, says Dave Meltzer. It may be a leg injury.
- Matt and Jeff had to vacate the titles due to the injury. It was his leg. (2/2)
- He also said that instead of Backlash being canceled like he previously reported, it will be held on June 23 in Tacoma, Washington.
- Backlash was canceled. Stomping Grounds was in Tacoma. So technically, a different show. (If I did count this right, the other one earlier would be wrong so it evens out.) (0/1)
- WWE is still protecting Drew McIntyre because there are still plans for him to get a push
- One of these days...
- Daniel Bryan was not at SmackDown this week and hasn’t been on the road with WWE since WrestleMania 35, according to PW Insider. WWE is still keeping information about Bryan’s injury under wraps.
- We never learned the extent of it. But he came back, which is the most important thing.
- Insider’s sources also tell them “there doesn’t seem to be any known indication of when” Sasha Banks will return to the company.
- It was in August.
- There’s speculation a reason The Riott Squad was split is because Liv Morgan will be on the new season of Total Divas.
- I don’t see why they’d need to split them because of that.
- A fan survey shared by Heel By Nature shows WWE listing War Raiders/The Viking Experience/The Viking Raiders by yet another name, “The Viking Warriors”.
- The Viking Warriors was never a name they used.
- NXT talent Shadia Bseiso and Nasser Alruwayeh were released from their contracts by WWE, says Squared Circle Sirens. Bseiso was heavily promoted as the company’s first Arab woman signing.
- WWE never technically announces the release of their developmental talent.
- According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Daniel Bryan was going to get a rematch against Kofi Kingston at Money in the Bank but his injury caused the change to Kevin Owens and the speeding up of his heel turn.
- That KO heel turn was rushed. We eventually got the Bryan/Kofi rematch on a random Raw right after they introduced the dreaded Wild Card Rule.
- WWE is doing more focus group work than ever in an attempt to figure out why ratings and live show business is down, says the WON.
- They still haven’t figured it out.
- Per the Observer, Nikki Cross will be a member of the Raw roster and it’s likely her husband, Killian Dain, will join her.
- I don’t know if Nikki was a Raw talent given she challenged for the SmackDown title alongside Alexa Bliss at one point. Dain went to NXT. (0/1)
- They’re also saying the B-Team have been moved to the SmackDown brand, and no decision has been made regarding Sheamus.
- Sheamus hasn’t been around for awhile. B-Team was on SD, working as lackeys for Shane McMahon. (1/1)
- SI is saying Dean Malenko has quit WWE.
- He works for All Elite now. (1/1)
This week: 7/16 - 44%
Overall: 2,973/5,358 - 55.5%
Have a great week, everyone!