Rumor Look Back: June 4 - 10, 2016

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.

June 4, 2016

• The John Cena vs. AJ Styles feud has apparently been planned for a while now, as WWE wanted it for Cena's big return feud.
• I wonder if the plan for AJ to go over twice was always the plan as well.
• While Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, and Erick Rowan are expected back on television next week, Luke Harper is not expected to be with them.
• The Wyatts were not on television the following week. (0/1)
• Money in the Bank could be a tag team heavy show, with possible matches right now including New Day vs. The Club, Charlotte & Dana Brooke vs. Natalya & Becky Lynch, and Golden Truth vs. Tyler Breeze & Fandango.
• It was a tag heavy show. The New Day match was actually a fatal 4-way involving the Club, Vaudevillains, and Enzo & Cass. To add to the tags, the Lucha Dragons and the Dudleys joined the Breezango/Golden Truth match on the pre-show. (2/3)
• According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, "there has been movement for an alliance" with Ring of Honor, New Japan, and CMLL.
• It went to the expert and asked ReverendKain about this, who confirmed there has been talent sharing. (1/1)

June 6, 2016

• Part of the deal for Lesnar to return to the octagon may be for UFC to promote SummerSlam on one of its major pay-per-view events.
• UFC 200 (the show with Brock) ran a promo for SummerSlam. (1/1)
• CM Punk's UFC debut is expected for late summer or early fall, with a reality show airing to promote it.
• It was early September and they did run “The Evolution of Punk” documentary prior to it. It’s not exactly a reality show, but it’s pretty close. (2/2)
• The Observer notes that Brandi Rhodes won't be working alongside her husband Cody on the independent scene on a consistent basis, but instead focusing on outside endeavors.
• I would say this is overall true. While she did go to TNA with him, she hasn’t been working along side him. She did announce him at PWG. He was solo in Evolve and Ing of Honor (though she was in attendance watching him). (1/1)
• According to Dave Meltzer, Tommy End is likely headed for WWE.
• This is true. I don’t know much about him, but people who do seemed pretty pumped to see him in the E. (1/1)

June 7, 2016

• Speculation that WWE will have a UFC fighter appear at SummerSlam as an unofficial "payment" for granting Brock Lesnar's request to fight on UFC 200 is focused on Paige Van Zant, who recently had crossover success on Dancing with the Stars.
• That didn’t happen. However, WWE did get to have to deal with Brock’s doping violation for UFC. So big payoff for the E right there. (0/1)
• Another report, however, stated letting Lesnar take the Mark Hunt fight was WWE returning the favor to UFC for Ronda Rousey's WrestleMania 31 appearance.
• There’s no confirmation on this. It’s certainly possible, though over a year later.
• Ring of Honor (ROH)'s Moose and Roderick Strong are also reportedly on WWE's radar. Both of their ROH contracts are believed up shortly.
• Moose went to TNA but Strong went to NXT. So far, he hasn’t done too much. (1/2)
• Vince McMahon soured on the Shining Stars gimmick when Epico & Primo's return didn't get much of a reaction and there are currently no plans for the duo.
• Yeah, there are still no evidence of any plans for them. (1/1)

June 8, 2016

• While there has been talk that Brock Lesnar's fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200 is WWE returning the favor for Ronda Rousey's WrestleMania 31 appearance, there's also talk that it could be another way to open the door for her to appear at WrestleMania 33 next year.
• That remains to be seen. I’m sure a lot of Ronda’s plans hinge on what happens in her fight against Amanda Nunes on Dec. 30.
• The AJ Styles vs. John Cena feud is expected to stretch over at least the next two PPV shows, and maybe into SummerSlam.
• Yes, it did go into SummerSlam (and even a bit longer). (1/1)
• Luke Harper, who was just cast in a horror movie, likely won't be cleared to return to WWE until the end of the summer.
• Harper returned in the fall, assisting Wyatt against Randy Orton. (1/1)
• According to PW Insider, TNA has hired McKenzie Mitchell as an on-camera personality and she should start appearing on TV soon
• She did backstage segments and YouTube videos. (1/1)

June 9, 2016

• The Observer notes that NXT is likely going to be raided for the WWE draft, so we should expect plenty of call ups.
• There were six in the draft: FInn Bálor, American Alpha, NIa Jax, Alexa Bliss, Mojo Rawley, and Carmella. Bálor and Bliss have been champions already. Bayley was called up soon after SummerSlam. (1/1)
• That said, it's expected NXT will have some big debuts again soon and the likes of Bobby Roode and Eric Young should become regulars.
• Both are regulars. It took a little longer to debut Young with Sanity, but they are both there full time. (2/2)
• There's a rumor going around, started by WrestleChat.net, that USA Network has shown interest in adding a third hour to SmackDown. But maybe not. But who knows.
• For the love of God no. (With 205 Live airing right after, it won’t happen. And with that thin SD roster, they couldn’t anyway.)
• There are apparently going to be some big surprises in the Cruiserweight Classic and WWE is holding them back as long as possible.
• I don’t know if there were really any big surprises. This rumor must be concerning the participants. I don’t know. Maybe Kota Ibushi or Cedric Alexander being in it could be considered a big surprise but overall, I think this is a negative. (0/1)
• Hideo Itami's return is likely coming very soon, according to the Observer, and they just have to come up with creative for him to write him back into the show.
• He was back on the house show circuit by the end of this month and back on TV in August. Unfortunately, he’s already back out with an injury. (1/1)

June 10, 2016

• WWE will help promote Brock Lesnar's return to the UFC but it likely won't get all that many mentions on Raw.
• This sounds about right. (1/1)
• With the brand split coming in July, there are expected to be multiple call ups to the main roster from NXT. That said, some call ups will continue working in NXT at least through the Brooklyn show over SummerSlam weekend.
• There were multiple call ups in the draft, but most of them out of NXT by Brooklyn and none of them on the Brooklyn show. (1/2)
• Some WWE pay-per-views may start running longer than the usual end time of 11 p.m. ET.
• That did happen for some. Then there were others who thankfully ended early. (1/1)
• The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that internally at WWE there has been talk that Moose will be coming in as a part of the September class. PW Insider reports he was backstage at NXT Takeover: The End... this week.
• Moose ended up in TNA. (0/1)

This Week: 20/27 - 74%

Overall: 1,226/2,279 - 53.8%

Have a great week, everyone!