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:
- There is still no word on the contract situation of TNA's AJ Styles, who cut a fantastic promo on last night's (Aug 29) edition of Impact. However, if he does not re-sign with TNA, don't look for WWE to be interested. WWE is said to have a "no TNA" standing policy for acquiring talent. Obviously, if someone like Sting were to become available, that might change, but WWE did not jump on Bobby Roode or Matt Morgan when their contracts were up (Roode re-signed with TNA while Morgan remains a free agent,) both of whom are arguably more appealing talents than Styles for WWE. Luckily for Styles, signs are pointing towards him signing a short term (rumored to be one year) deal that will allow TNA to revisit his contract situation once things in the company settle down. (For the NFL fans in the audience, think of it as TNA applying the franchise tag to Styles.)
- Yesterday, we learned that former Indy star Sami Callihan will be going by the name of "Solomon Crowe" in NXT. Crowe, though undersized, is seen as a complete wrestler with truly immense upside, already drawing comparisons to past NXT stars like Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose. It is expected that he will need to tweak his moveset, as he used a number of dangerous moves that the WWE decision makers in developmental will likely prevent him from using. It is also currently believed that he will start out in a tag team once he starts making the NXT tapings.
- Another NXT name change has come out, as "Gentleman Bruiser" Ryan Drago, who wrestled in the independent leagues as a turn-of-the-century bodybuilder character, will now be known as "Simon Gotch." Gotch, which you may recognize from Antonio Cesaro's "Gotch neutralizer" finishing move, comes from turn-of-the-centry pro wrestler Frank Gotch. It appears that WWE liked Drago's use of an old-timey character and are sticking with it.
- Back to WWE main roster news, Dolph Ziggler gave an interview yesterday promoting this weekend's upcoming house show from Washington D.C. In the "work" part of it, he criticized Triple H's backing of Randy Orton, noting that it makes him "sick" and that he will "come out on top one way or another." With the rumors of a War Games style match coming up in October's Battleground pay per view, it looks like Ziggler might be on the side of Team Daniel Bryan. In the more "shoot" part of the interview, Ziggler said that he'd love to work an angle with Christian, who he respects. While the build to such a match would probably fall flat, the match itself between those two quality workers would probably be phenomenal.
- Michael Hutter, formerly known as Derrick Bateman in WWE, worked a dark match before last night's Impact taping, losing to Jay Bradley. It seems that the qualms WWE has with signing TNA talent do not exist in the other direction.
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.