Rumor Look Back: Jan 2 - 8, 2017

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, let’s knock out some outstanding rumors.

August 6, 2015

• Apparently the long term plan is still for Lana to drop the Russian accent, although it's not known how they'll do it.
• I’ve sat on this for awhile thinking they may use Total Divas or even her newest debut as a chance to change things. But all this time, she’s still been Russian. (0/1)

August 25, 2015

• According to PW Insider, everyone at WWE was really happy with how Stephen Amell performed at SummerSlam and they're leaving the door open for a possible singles match sometime down the road.
• It’s been long enough for this one. Especially with his pal Cody Rhodes leaving, I don’t think we’ll see the Green Arrow wrestling in WWE. (0/1)

November 11, 2015

• Tyler Breeze isn't expected to be a main event level star in WWE. It's already thought that he's seen only a mid-card act and likely won't go higher than a possible Intercontinental title win.
• While anything is possible in the future, clearly their initial plan for him wasn’t much. He didn’t even get into a midcard title level and ended up jobbing for awhile. His current run alongside Fandango could help propel him higher though. One can hope. (1/1)

Now onto this weeks rumors:

January 2, 2017

• Undertaker is likely going to announce he will enter the Royal Rumble match when he appears on Raw next week.
• This is true. (1/1)
• Shawn Michaels is expected to have a big presence on the show but won't be going against his retirement stipulation.
• He didn’t have big presence at the Rumble at all. Just an early, pretty forgettable promo. (0/1)
• The latest word is Batista is likely done with WWE and there are no plans for a retirement match like he talked about wanting at one point.
• This is still up in the air. He told Jericho on Y2J’s podcast that he’d like a retirement angle with Triple H but given his schedule and their interest, it may not happen.
• The recent sniping back-and-forth on Twitter between John Cena and Roman Reigns is not being done to build to a match.
• It didn’t lead to a match. I wonder if that’s going to be a WrestleMania match this year. (1/1)
• PW Insider noted recently that WWE wasn't happy about Renee Young and Dean Ambrose's relationship going public when it did. That hasn't stopped them from using it on television, obviously.
• WWE is so controlling about things they shouldn’t be.

January 3, 2017

• There’s renewed talk of tension between Stephanie McMahon & Triple H and Shane McMahon, some of it claiming Shane has gained some measure of influence on Creative even though he’s only currently working under a talent contract.
• Shane claimed on a podcast that he’s just talent but who knows the inner workings.
• While she wasn’t the person under the mask last Tuesday, Mickie James will likely be introduced to SmackDown via the La Luchadora angle.
• She was introduced as the masked lady during the Women’s championship cage match between Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch. (1/1)
• The Revival are considered locks for main roster promotion in the early part of 2017, and there’s a lot of discussion about Tye Dillinger and Liv Morgan being brought up soon, as well.
• Morgan hasn’t been called up but the Revival and Dillinger have been. (2/3)
• With a new class coming in and the United Kingdom push about to get underway, there is concern among talent not currently being utilized at WWE Developmental that a wave of roster cuts is forthcoming.
• I’m not aware of a big round of roster cuts and couldn’t find anything on the interwebs. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong in the comments. (0/1)

January 4, 2017

• Bayley is getting the Daniel Bryan push as the ultimate underdog and she will likely win the women's title at WrestleMania 33.
• This isn’t really how it went at all. She won well before Mania and didn’t really lose a bunch prior to it. (She’s lost a bunch since.) (0/1)
• Although television is building to it, there are no current plans for Renee Young to wrestle. That could always change, of course.
• It didn’t happen. The entire feud between Renee and Dean Ambrose against Miz and Maryse was dropped. (1/1)
• Dolph Ziggler superkicking Kalisto was a heel turn and he'll be playing a bad guy going forward with the idea it will freshen up his character after he missed out on winning so many big matches.
• He’s been a heel since. I wouldn’t say it freshened up anything. (1/1)
• Diamond Dallas Page will be one of the members of the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame, according to PW Insider.
• He was. (1/1)

January 5, 2017

• Negotiations between Impact and Alberto Del Rio never really stopped and he may still be joining TNA.
• He’s the undisputed world champion. (1/1)
• In addition to ongoing talks with Jeff Jarrett, TNA’s new ownership is also said to be interested in bringing Dutch Mantell (aka Zeb Colter) onto their management team - presumably for booking/creative.
• Dutch was brought in. (1/1)
• Both Davey Richards & Angelina Love could be back on Impact tonight, or at some point during this set of tapings.
• It was this night, when he costed his former tag partner the World title, which ignited their feud that just concluded last week. (1/1)
• Fozzy started work on their next album yesterday, the latest sign Chris Jericho’s time with WWE is winding down soon.
• Their single Judas is a big hit.

January 6, 2017

• In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it's noted that WrestleMania 33 has undergone some "key changes" but it's unclear what exactly those changes are. The card should be finalized soon, however.
• I wonder how often the card itself (and not the finish) changes.
• It was said, however, that Undertaker is the only "non-regular" who will be wrestling on the show, at least as of right now.
• That’s a weird rumor since Brock and Goldberg were already assumed at this point. (0/1)

January 7, 2017

• It's still expected that Roman Reigns will become a double champion, so don't expect him to lose the US title on Raw next week.
• He didn’t become a double champion and he did lose the title on Raw the following week. (0/1)
• Seth Rollins may be getting a new entrance theme, as the band Downstait have released a sneak peek of some music they did for him.
• He still has the same theme. (0/1)
• Samoa Joe is a hot topic as a potential call up this month, possibly as an entrant in the Royal Rumble.
• He was called up but not in the Rumble. It debuted the day after. He’s fighting Brock Lesnar tonight for the Universal title. (1/2)
• Kenny Omega may be weighing his options but he's expected back in New Japan.
• He just become the first ever IWGP United States champion at the G1 special. (1/1)
• Holy Foley should be returning to WWE Network with new episodes within the next couple months.
• It dropped later this month. (1/1)

This week: 14/22 - 64%

Overall: 1,591/2,930 - 54.3%

Have a great week, everyone!