Rumor Look Back: Oct. 15 - 21, 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. Let’s jump right in.

October 16, 2017

• Although reports say Jinder Mahal will be next for Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, Finn Bálor appears to be in line after that.
• Finn never got his shot. I suppose it’s conceivably possible it will happen against Lesnar, but I doubt it. I think he will eventually get a title shot against the person who eventually beats Lesnar. (0/1)
• It’s expected that WWE will be bringing back The Shield’s entrance through the crowd at TLC.
• They did. Kurt Angle was there. (1/1)
• Kofi Kingston is teasing that he will debut a new look soon.
• Not really. He cut his hair, but that’s about it. (0/1)
• Mark Briscoe suffered a dislocated elbow at ROH Global Wars and is expected out around 10 weeks.
• He was back fighting at Final Battle in December, so that fits the timeline. (1/1)

October 17, 2017

• A Dean Ambrose heel turn is being considered, per PWMania, to provide the reason for The Shield’s second break-up and a WrestleMania feud between Ambrose and Seth Rollins.
• This never happened. Unfortunately, Ambrose was injured and that’s what ended the Shield Reunion. (0/1)
• WWE wants Brock Lesnar vs. Jinder Mahal to be one of several Raw vs. SmackDown matches on the Survivor Series card, says Wrestling Observer Radio.
• It was initially advertised. However, they didn’t want it enough to hold off on Mahal losing the title to AJ. That’s exactly what happened, and it was AJ vs. Brock. (0/1)
• According to Voices of Wrestling, several WWE contracted wrestlers want to leave the company and have approached Cody Rhodes for advice on transitioning to the independents.
• I could imagine this being true with someone like Neville. I don’t know if Emma was looking to leave prior to her release. My impression was she was upset she was let go. But she’s looking at the Rhodes model as inspiration for her indie plan.
• Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas missed the past two Mondays and the Raw house shows from last weekend, leading to speculation about possibly family issues and their status with WWE.
• They were dealing with a viral illness. Their status with WWE is fine. (0/1)
• Fresh off their VOD One Shot show, MLW is considering returning to Florida with monthly shows, Court Bauer told The Orlando Sentinel.
• That’s the case. They’re getting a weekly TV program. (1/1)

October 18, 2017

• According to Wrestling Inc, there’s speculation that Undertaker could be returning for a match at Survivor Series teaming with Kane against The Shield.
• He did not return at Survivor Series. He returned at WrestleMania instead . (0/1)
• Although WWE still hasn’t mentioned it and initially denying as much to some media outlets, all signs points to Neville having quit the company.
• He’s still off TV but technically with the company. He’s even on the roster section at WWE.com.
• In response to an interview Triple H’s nutritionist, Dave Palumbo, gave saying WWE wrestlers are allowed hormone replacement, the company sent out a statement that approximately 7-percent of talent have exemptions due to “certain medical conditions.” Dave Meltzer later noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that 14-15 people have a Therapeutic Use Exemption.
• I don’t remember anything about this.

October 19, 2017

• Kane’s return has been in the works for a few months, according to PWInsider, but he’s not expected to stick around for long. Current plans call for him to be on Raw for roughly three weeks after TLC.
• He worked through the Royal Rumble as part of a title feud. Even though he was pseudo written off by Strowman, he had a match with John Cena in that weird WrestleMania build and he was in the Andre Battle Royal. (0/1)
• That makes Kane unlikely for Survivor Series, and the “Pro Wrestling Votes” Twitter account (which has led the way on the Neville and Nia Jax stories) also says The Undertaker will not be involved in the angle with The Shield there, either.
• Kane did not work Survivor Series and Undertaker wasn’t involved at all. (2/2)
• SI.com says they think Daniel Bryan will re-sign with WWE.
• I don’t think his contract is up until later this year, so we’ll have to wait. Since they’re letting him wrestle, I assume he will re-sign.

October 20, 2017

• JoJo Offerman’s mother denies her daughter is sick, but Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet says the viral meningitis scare at Raw is “is very real and could definitely affect the TLC card.”
• Satin was right. They had to replace Roman Reigns with Kurt Angle and Bray Wyatt couldn’t wrestle as Sister Abigail or whatever the hell they were going to do with that. (1/1)
• AJ Styles missed SmackDown’s first live event in Argentina on Thursday due to illness, but it’s said to be an unrelated stomach bug. He’s supposed to be cleared for Friday’s show.
• He didn’t miss time like those afflicted with a virus on Raw. (1/1)
• With Lucha Underground season three finishing its run on El Rey, Ricochet is again teasing signing with another televised company, with a lot of speculation focused on WWE.
• He’s in NXT now. The Rock is a fan. (1/1)
• However, this week’s Observer says WWE’s spending cuts mean they won’t be bringing in many big names, or they’ll be offering lowball contracts in negotiations.
• I can’t speak to the contracts, but they brought in War Machine, EC3, Ricochet, and Bobby Lashley recently.

October 21, 2017

• Wrestling Inc is claiming that viral meningitis isn’t the illness going through the WWE locker room but the mumps.
• I don’t think we ever found out for sure. Shouldn’t we all be vaccinated against the mumps?
• This year’s Survivor Series will likely be all about a “Raw vs. SmackDown” angle, with PW Insider saying promotional spots will focus on exactly that.
• It was. It started with a big SmackDown attack on Monday Night Raw. (1/1)
• Per PW Insider, WWE is looking at doing more reality shows with the company that produces Total Bellas and Total Divas. Two ideas include another competition show to find a new female talent, and a show that would follow The Miz and Maryse.
• The Miz and Maryse show is already a thing. The other show isn’t a thing, at least yet. I’ll wait a bit and grade it all at once later on.

This week: 9/16 - 56%

Overall: 2,082/3,805 - 54.7%

Have a great week, folks!