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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. Let’s just right into it.
- It looks like there are multiple title changes planned for TLC as of this moment.
- Two - Dean Ambrose over Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental championship and Asuka winning the SmackDown women’s title in the TLC match with Becky Lynch and Charlotte. (1/1)
- Bray Wyatt’s return is expected sooner rather than later.
- April 22, which was still after Mania and a ways away. (0/1)
- Sin Cara should be returning to WWE come early next year.
- His first match back was just two days ago in the biggest battle royal ever in all history. (0/1)
- According to the Observer, there may be even more restrictions on WWE’s U.K. talent, with Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, and Trent Seven losing a “Loser Leaves Town” match in Fight Club Pro.
- It cruddy for the promotions that used to book these guys, but with WWE trying to market their own UK promotion, I understand.
- They also note Jonah Rock from Australia should be coming to WWE next month.
- Looks like he’s in WWE/NXT now (1/1)
- A Wrestlevotes tweet saying Fox wanted the pre-WrestleMania TakeOver on Friday instead of Saturday has led to speculation that starting in 2020 the network will air NXT in SmackDown’s usual spot the week before WrestleMania.
- We’ll have to see next year.
- A couple other rumors mentioned on Rajah about 2019’s WrestleMania scheduling: TakeOver may have been moved to get more fans to show up in New York earlier in the week, as in past years a lot flew in for NXT but skipped the Hall of Fame ceremony, and...
- It could have also been so they didn’t run against the MSG show.
- It’s possible The Rock could be in line for induction, but he couldn’t dedicate three nights to WWE, so they moved the ceremony to Saturday to accommodate his schedule.
- The Rock was not inducted last year. DX was the headliner. (0/1)
- WWE is aggressively trying to sign a lot of talent, per Wrestling Observer Radio, including talking to wrestlers who are currently under contract to other promotions.
- That makes sense with the threat of AEW.
- In case you were wondering, “a source close to” Nikki Bella told Hollywood Life that she hopes to start dating again soon, and thinks that person will either be another wrestler or someone famous because those are the only people she’s around.
- I mean, that’s who people date. Those they’re around.
- According to PW Insider, Roman Reigns was at Tribute to the Troops, though it’s unclear if he will be used on television.
- I don’t believe they showed the Big Dog on TV until he was back officially.
- Undertaker, Michelle McCool, Maryse, Mark Henry, and Christian were all backstage at SmackDown Live this week, per PW Insider.
- Just stopping by to say hello?
- With WWE mentioned women’s tag team titles on Raw this week, it’s led to further speculation that said titles will be coming much sooner rather than later.
- They were announced around Christmas. (1/1)
- Fandango has been working out at the Performance Center to prepare for a return, notes PW Insider.
- Still waiting on the Dango!
- Despite Mark Henry’s comments, Wrestling Observer says Alexa Bliss is not cleared for an in-ring return after suffering her most recent concussion. So far, she’s only approved for light activity under medical supervision.
- She didn’t work until the Royal Rumble.
- On Observer Radio this week, Dave Meltzer speculated that after their split on Raw, Dolph Ziggler will drift down the card while Drew McIntyre’s main event push continues.
- I’m going to say a singular no on this as Ziggler left pretty soon after and I wouldn’t call what Drew is getting a “main event push.” If it is, it’s a rough one. Anyway, Ziggler just returned for a one on one title shot, something Drew hasn’t received yet. (0/1)
- Drummer Alicia Warrington said on her Twitter that she’s been hired as a new NXT announcer. It looks like her on-screen name will be “Alicia Taylor”.
- This is true, though I don’t believe she’s been on TV.
- Shane Strickland’s WWE contract may be on hold due to his Lucha Underground deal, per PW Insider. He’s still working with MLW in the interim.
- He’s in WWE now.
- In discussing Jonah Rock’s signing, PW Torch notes that other members of WWE’s January class probably won’t be as well known because the company is now trying to identify and lock up wrestlers before they break out in the big name indie promotions.
- I’d say a mix of known and unknown.
- According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Becky Lynch, while cleared for the concussion she suffered, still hasn’t been cleared for the nasal fracture she suffered. They do expect her to be ready for TLC, however.
- She was ready for TLC. (1/1)
- The latest on Braun Strowman seems to be that many expect he won’t be ready to wrestle at TLC so if he appears at all, it will only be for a very short match where he won’t have to do much.
- That’s accurate. He really didn’t do much of anything, having the rest of the Raw locker room beat up Corbin for him. (1/1)
- There had been reports going around that Natalya is injured but PW Insider says it’s all storyline and she’s fine.
- She didn’t miss any time if she was.
- The Observer notes that Ring of Honor is making a lot of moves to try to stock up on talent in an effort to prepare for losing The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and Hangman Page.
- They brought in guys like Rush, Bandido, Juice Robinson, and Tracy Williams. So yes? It didn’t make a difference though. The Elite was a bandaid for their questionable booking and now that’s exposed. (1/1)
- Former WWE Creative team member Kevin Eck has been hired by Ring of Honor on a full time basis, per PW Insider.
- He hasn’t helped.
- The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that one of the reasons WWE doesn’t allow for men to wrestle women is because of a promise made to Mattel many years ago.
- It would be harder to sell toys I bet. I’m sure some sponsors wouldn’t care for it either.
- The decision to move NXT back to Friday night next year was apparently made very late, possibly even as little as a week before the information was made public.
- Curious how they would have done against the MSG Super Show, which had some decent New Japan stuff and some ROH ROH stuff.
- Shane Strickland’s deal with WWE is “still up in the air” but that it’s almost a certainty he winds up there, per the Observer. His Lucha Underground deal is getting in the way.
- He’s there now with the name Isiah Scott. (1/1)
- They also say Marko Stunt, prior to his injury, was drawing interest from WWE and AAA.
- He wrestled in the pre-show battle royal for AEW but I don’t believe he’s with them.
- The future of Lucha Underground is once again uncertain with no tapings set for anytime soon for another season and funding needed for a season five.
- I bet they’re done, but we’ll see. A lot of their main talent has moved on.
This week: 7/11 - 64%
Overall: 2,762/5,014 - 55.1%
Have a great week, everyone!