Rumor Roundup for Friday, November 15 - Cena, Wellness Policy, and More!

Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill.

Important reminder: Rumors are just that -- rumors. None of this has been confirmed as legitimate news or fact; so remember to take it all with a grain of salt.

Rumors for the Day:

• Though John Cena once again showed superhuman-like healing abilities in returning from a torn triceps injury in less than half of the projected time he was expected to miss, Cena is still ailing from a myriad of other injuries. Reports from Europe, where WWE has been touring this past week, have stated that Cena is "really hurting" after each match. Whether it is related to the triceps injury he recently came back from or another injury which is causing him trouble is unknown at this time. Earlier this year, rumors heavily suggested that WWE was coming up with plan to "wind down" Cena's workhorse schedule over the next two years. That plan was said to include having Cena wrestle less on free TV and at house shows before then moving him to a part-time schedule in several years in order to extend his career in the long run. However, the decision to put the World Heavyweight title on Cena in order to increase the prestige of that title (and has Cena wrestling on both Raw and Smackdown each week) seems to run contrary to that plan. Based on Cena's history, he will continue to work through the injuries for as long as he can, but at some point, WWE will have to sacrifice some short-term success to preserve Cena for the long-term future of the company.
• As some of you may have heard already, WWE announced several changes to their "Wellness Policy." The policy, which uses a three strike system to punish talent caught using banned substances including both recreational and performance enhancing drugs, was instituted in 2006 following the high profile death of Eddie Guerrero. The changes include allowing talent to request a "Therapeutic Use Exemption" for banned substances with a legitimate doctor's prescription, giving WWE the right to immediately dismiss talent who are found in violation of the law related to drugs, and, perhaps most importantly, allowing a talent with two strikes to have one of the strikes absolved if they complete an 18 month treatment process. (This last part is applicable to current WWE champion Randy Orton, who has two strikes in the system. A third strike would have seen him banned from WWE competition for one year.)
• WWE is getting a lot of unhappiness from fans on the European tour in regards to scheduling. Though WWE always warns that the card is subject to change, there have been some particularly jarring instances where more than half the talent advertised for a show aren't appearing. In one particularly notable instance last weekend, the fans disrupted a main event match between Randy Orton and Big Show with vigorous chanting for Daniel Bryan, who was advertised for the show but was actually at a different show that night.
• In NXT news, one guy to keep your eye on is the 300+ pound Bulgarian, Alexander Rusev. WWE officials are said to be in love with Rusev's potential, and he is said to be a "lock" for the main roster after a little more polish.
• Former NXT talent Garrett Dylan, real name Jody Kristofferson (son of actor Kris Kristofferson,) recently stated that he will be returning to the company in early 2014. Dylan was released back in August.

If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you'd like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Please remember, these are merely rumors. Try not to take them too seriously, just have fun with them.