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Welcome to a special edition of the Rumor Look Back. Every week, we take a look at rumors from six months prior and see if they played out like predicted. I’ll evaluate the ones that I am able to. Some will end up outstanding because the answer hasn’t yet revealed itself but it will at a later date.
Because I did not want to grade any WrestleMania 32 nor Hall of Fame rumors until the show was officially completed, I ended up with a large amount outstanding rumors for both – enough that warranted its own post. Keep in mind that these don’t account for every WrestleMania 32 rumor. These are only the rumors from six months back or more. It will give us an idea of how the rumors for WrestleMania do when they are so far removed from the date of the show.
Hall of Fame 2016 Rumors
Sting and Undertaker are the favorites for the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame.
Sting was inducted but Undertaker was not. I wonder if Sting would have been inducted if not for his career ending injury. (1/2)
The Hall of Fame could have a smaller class of inductee as a change going forward.
There was rumor of discussions regarding changes in the Hall of Fame going forward, though it was unclear what. This specific rumor was just about the size of the class, though from what I saw of the Hall, it was pretty much the same as years past.
This year’s class had 8 (Stan Hansen, Jacqueline, Big Boss Man, Godfather, the Freebirds, Joan Lunden, Snoop Dogg, and Sting.) There were 9 last year, 7 the year prior, and 6 the year before that. So even though this class had one less than 2015, the classes are still trending larger (and the ceremony just as long). (0/1)
Undertaker, Sting, and the Fabulous Freebirds are all names being thrown around for the WWE Hall of Fame in Dallas. It’s possible Taker and Sting get inducted and have a retirement match the next night.
Sting and the Freebirds were inducted. Undertaker was not. I’m not going to grade the retirement match part because that was contingent of the Undertaker Hall of Fame rumor being correct. (2/3)
WrestleMania 32 Rumors
Sting vs. Triple appears to be a lock for WrestleMania 31. That does not mean that Sting vs. Undertaker is off the table. It could happen at WrestleMania 32 as a retirement match for both men.
I already graded the Sting/Triple H part when I originally looked at this rumor. Sting/Undertaker did not happen. It’s unknown if that was a possibility before Sting got hurt, though Undertaker/Cena was also a big rumor at one point. (0/1)
Regarding Steve Austin working a match at WrestleMania 32, all indicators point to him missing the show. His in ring career is over.
I had trouble with this rumor initially because some of it was alluding to his working in ring but "missing the show" is a blanket statement. So I will grade this as incorrect because he did not miss the show. He stunned Xavier Woods, which the X Man owned was his fault on Raw. (0/1)
The Rock gave an interview recently teasing both an appearance at WrestleMania 31 and a match with Brock at WrestleMania 32.
The appearance at last WrestleMania part was already graded. He did not have a match with Brock this year. That honor went to Dean Ambrose. Rock did beat Erick Rowan in a segment that… you know what, I don’t want to talk about it. (0/1)
Now that Lesnar has re-signed, it is possible we are looking at Brock/Rock and Undertaker/Sting at WrestleMania 32.
Neither of those matches happened. (0/2)
WWE is doing all it can get have Ronda Rousey involved in some way at WrestleMania 32 so it can be promoted large ahead of time.
They tried I’m sure, but she was not part of last Sunday’s show in any way. That was something that became clear as time went on. (0/1)
Even though Shawn Michaels brought up WWE wanting him to work WrestleMania 32, it is believed he won’t break his retirement stipulation for anything.
While I suppose he could still come out of retirement, he didn’t work 32. (1/1)
The idea of Hulk Hogan working a match at WrestleMania 32 is actually a possibility depending on how the card works.
This was prior to his racist verbiage on his sex tape coming out. So who knows what would have happened if that didn’t? Maybe he could have and the show could have gone another 30 minutes! (0/1)
According to the Observer, Undertaker’s WWE contract is coming up soon, though he is still expected to work WrestleMania 32.
Of course he did. There are questions if this will be his last Mania, but I would think if he’s going out, he’d go out in a match that’s more about his retirement and less about the McMahon family feud. (1/1)
There is belief within WWE that Ronda Rousey will still be working WrestleMania next year and that her vehement denial of that is a work.
It was not a work, and she was not at the show. (0/1)
The Observer notes that the end of the Austin podcast that teased Austin/Lesnar at WrestleMania 32 isn’t a shoot but is setting up an angle.
I’m starting to wonder if people just really wanted to believe this. Because the chances of this happening were so slim. (0/1)
It would appear at least possible that WWE is going to go all out for WrestleMania this year. That could include:
- Austin vs. Lesnar
- Sting vs. Undertaker
- The Rock vs. Triple H
- A Hulk Hogan match
- A Shield Triple Threat for the title
None of those matches happened. Though only two were possible by the time Mania rolled around given the state of injuries or Hogan’s firing. (0/5)
Even though he won’t work a match, Stone Cold Steve Austin will be featured prominently at WrestleMania 32.
I wouldn’t consider his spot "prominent." He was part of the "let’s roll out some legends" segment after a disappointing tag team finish. (0/1)
There are some beliefs that Steve Austin/Brock Lesnar will happen at WrestleMania 32 and all the denials are part of the work.
Rumors were still going with this, huh? (0/1)
The Main Event of next year’s WrestleMania is still either The Rock/Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H/Stephanie, The Rock vs. Triple H and Ronda vs. Stephanie, or just the Rock vs. Triple H.
None of those happened. (0/1)
According to the Observer, Undertaker vs. Sting isn’t going to happen next year because Vince McMahon is "negative on it."
We won’t know because of Sting’s injury, but I can believe it. I’m grading the fact that it didn’t happen. We may never know if Vince is "negative" on it or not. (1/1)
Stone Cold Steve Austin’s involvement in the WWE 2K16 video game is unlikely to lead to another match but he apparently is going to make a few appearances for the company. He’s also expected to work WrestleMania 32.
Only thing left to be graded was Austin working WrestleMania. And he did work the show. He didn’t work a match but he worked and got paid. (1/1)
According to the Observer Newsletter, the Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar match at SummerSlam will "play a part in the storyline for one of the major matches at the next WrestleMania."
This was when the assumption that Brock and Taker would rematch at Mania and not Hell in a Cell. The match had no bearing on the Mania card this year. (0/1)
Raw tonight is supposed to be huge, and will feature a big surprise that is leading to a big angle at WrestleMania this year.
This was the SummerSlam fallout show. It featured the return of Sting, the debut of Braun Strowman, and the Dudley Boyz coming back. None of those things were part of any major WrestleMania angle. (0/1)
While Romda Rousey’s film schedule could facilitate wrestling training, her filming of Mile 22 will likely rule her out for Texas 2016 given overseas filming dates.
This is the case and the first time it came up that she might not be able to work Mania. (1/1)
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Hall of Fame rumors: 3/6 - 50%
WrestleMania 32 rumors: 5/24 - 21%
Total outstanding: 8/30 - 27%
Overall: 746/1,417 - 52.6%
I think the moral of the story here is not to ever get worried about rumors that are concerning something half a year out or more. So much can change, including injuries, that it extremely tough to keep a plan that far forward.
We'll be back on Sunday with the usual Look Back. See you all then.