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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.
But first, I have been sitting on some “Big pushes for Lana and Eva Marie” rumors for a long while. It’s time to get them out of my “outstanding rumor” bin and grade them as incorrect. If they end up getting big pushes down the line, it’s fair to assume that these rumors weren’t talking about a big push 2 years from then.
- There are rumors of big future pushes for Eva Marie and Lana.
- I held out until after the brand split when it looked like maybe Eva would get some sort of push. But then she was suspended and did a movie and hasn’t been seen since. I would not consider Lana’s love affair with Dolph a big push. (0/2)
- While WWE apparently wants Lana to be the female face of the company, it's unclear if that means she will ever become a wrestler. Eva Marie, meanwhile, is also in line for a major push soon but she will be doing so as a wrestler.
- Neither received a big push as either a wrestler or non-wrestler. And Lana isn’t even close to being the female face of the company. (0/2)
- That idea of the big push for Lana as the next female star in WWE is likely dead.
- There it is. (1/1)
- According the Observer, the big push that Lana was supposed to get is going to go to Eva Marie with the idea that everyone knew she was awful and she busted her ass to get better and fans will get behind it.
- Even if she did get a push, it would only be as a heat seeking heel. This redemption storyline never caught on. (0/1)
OK, now onto this week’s rumors.
- If AJ Styles defeats John Cena at SummerSlam, it could mean he's in line to work a program for the WWE championship.
- True story. He beat Cena and then beat Dean Ambrose for the title at the next SmackDown PPV. (1/1)
- It's expected that WWE will add at least two more matches to the SummerSlam event, even though it already has nine scheduled.
- Wikipedia has 12 (including 3 pre-show), so 3 more were added. (1/1)
- Any talks between WWE and MVP are "now dead," according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
- Yeah, he didn’t return to WWE. I was an MVP fan though i don’t know where he’d fit in today’s WWE. I’m sure they could have found a spot of him in the upper midcard on SmackDown. (1/1)
- Don't be surprised if WWE does yet another invasion angle on Raw and SmackDown next week leading to SummerSlam.
- This is referring to the inter-brand match between Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar. However no invasions happened the week leading up to SummerSlam. (0/1)
- Shinsuke Nakamura is likely getting called up to the main roster sooner rather than later.
- In regards to this, I usually look at soon as within the six months of grading this, meaning this rumor is thinking they may fast track him. He’s still down there. (0/1)
- The Observer reported that WWE is actively scouting indies right now and social media conduct has been an issue, with some people being "shot down based on content of recent tweets."
- Watch that social media, peeps.
- Randy Orton will likely appear on tonight's episode of Raw in some capacity, be it live or via video.
- Orton was not on this show, live nor via satellite. (0/1)
- The new cruiserweight division coming to Raw is apparently expected to start sometime in September, likely shortly after the Cruiserweight Classic wraps up.
- September 19 to be exact. (1/1)
- Kota Ibushi, Cedric Alexander, and Roderick Strong are all names linked to the cruiserweight division that WWE hopes to bring in.
- While Roddy is in WWE, he’s in NXT and not a cruiser. Kota did not sign with WWE. Cedric is one of the bigger players in the division. (1/3)
- The NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II event is expected to run for two-and-a-half hours, not including the pre-show.
- Man, if only we had a statistician who could easily provide that info... Oh that’s right, we do! Cain A. Knight crunched the numbers at 2 hr, 34 min, 41 s. (1/1)
- It's been a while for a rumor like this but morale within TNA was apparently high after the announcement of Billy Corgan taking over as President.
- That didn’t last long.
- Following up on a rumor from a few weeks back, Triple H is said to be behind the heat on Alberto Del Rio, telling Vince McMahon WWE should part ways with the Mexican Superstar because he parties too much and is a bad influence on Paige.
- No way to know if this is true, but he was soon suspended the same day as Paige. He’s already left the company and since beat up a ninja turtle. Honestly, that story still doesn’t cease to amaze me.
- WWE had scripts written for SummerSlam guest appearances by both Paige VanZant and the Muppets. The Dancing with the Stars star decided to focus on her next UFC fight, while PWInsider says the Disney-owned characters had a "scheduling issue" (they’re busy puppets).
- I included this because the puppet part made me laugh.
- The name for Raw’s new top belt, the Universal title, is said to be really unpopular backstage.
- Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon had no problem making fun of it.
- There's some speculation going around that Undertaker may be making a future appearance on WWE television, perhaps as soon as SummerSlam.
- Taker was not at SummerSlam. It took months for a quick appearance prior to Survivor Series where he threatened to take some souls if they didn’t win their match against Raw. (1/2)
- Jon Stewart's appearance at SummerSlam is expected to be an in-ring segment that WWE hopes will get plenty of media attention after the show.
- He was involved in the New Day tag match. Unlike the year prior, when it was just after he retired, he didn’t get over this time. (1/1)
- Expect the women's championship coming to SmackDown Live to be decided on at the first blue brand exclusive Network special, Backlash.
- Becky Lynch won a 6-pack challenge on that show to become first champion. (1/1)
- PW Insider notes WWE has registered trademarks for Gran Metalik, so he may be signed for the cruiserweight division coming to Raw.
- That’s true, though he hasn’t been featured much. (1/1)
- MLW reports the recently suspended Alberto Del Rio & Paige were seen at Combate Americas, a Spanish-language MMA promotion Del Rio was connected to before re-signing with WWE, just last week, possibly lining up future work for ADR as it looks like his second WWE run may end almost as abruptly as his first.
- He’s now president of Combate Americas.
- Paige was filming Total Divas in New York this week, per PWInsider. Presumably she’s been sent home from all WWE activities, but it’s possible her suspension becomes a storyline on the E! Network show.
- It probably will be, but it hasn’t happened yet on the show. I’ll put this on ice.
- In noting how many veterans seem to be passing on returning to WWE, the Observer says it’s because the company is offering the same or less money in exchange for more dates and travel than is required for them to work for TNA, Ring of Honor or other indies.
- Could be why they didn’t get anyone of note.
This week: 10/15 - 67%
Overall: 1,361/2,501 - 54.4%
Have a great week, everyone!