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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 get right into it.
- The decision on what match will headline WrestleMania 35 has yet to be made, says the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The feeling does seem to be it will be a women’s match with Roman Reigns out of action.
- That feeling was correct, though Reigns was in action.
- There’s talk the women’s Royal Rumble match could once again headline the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
- It was the mens’ that main evented. (0/1)
- Dana White mentioned after UFC 232 that Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Cormier could still happen, though it’s unclear right now if it will.
- I guess it still could, but it’s feeling less and less likely.
- New Japan’s upcoming Tokyo Dome show is doing great in ticket sales, says the Observer. So good, in fact, that it’s expected to be the most ticket sales to a Japanese show in over 15 years.
- Looks like they had the most tickets purchased, at least for Wrestle Kingdoms, which I’d think would be the most purchased in general. (1/1)
- That site also says BJ Whitmer will likely be joining up with AEW when it launches.
- He is not in AEW right now. (0/1)
- WWE is still believed to be working toward a Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins Universal title match at WrestleMania 35, which probably doesn’t bode well for Braun Strowman’s chances at Royal Rumble.
- That was the Mania match. Braun didn’t even get his match against Lesnar again. He lost the opportunity and Finn had the title shot. (1/1)
- Speaking of which, on Wrestling Observer Live recently, Bryan Alvarez said he was told “80% of the Royal Rumble has been booked”.
- How much of that was changed last minute?
- Next week’s Raw will be a loaded show, and could include multiple debuts.
- Doesn’t seem that way looking at the recap, which said “no debuts.” (0/1)
- Don’t expect All Elite Wrestling to start with a television deal. They’ll likely follow their own and the NWA’s model of working with partners, building buzz online and growing gradually.
- I’m going to say “no” to this. They had a deal with TNT before their first show ever happened. (0/1)
- Speaking of All Elite, Chris Jericho fueled speculation about his involvement with the rumored promotion by publicly thanking its financial backer Tony Khan for getting him tickets to Sunday’s Minnesota Vikings NFL game.
- Yeah, he’s with them. (1/1)
- Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn likely won’t return until at least Royal Rumble, where it’s possible they will be surprise entrants.
- They were not part of the Rumble. Kevin a month later. Sami even later than that, not returning until after WrestleMania. (0/1)
- AEW has been talking to a lot of free agents. DJZ and Trevor Lee are expected to draw interest from both AEW and WWE.
- Both are with WWE right now, part of the NXT breakout tournament. They are now known as Joaquin Wilde and Cameron Grimes respectively
- WWE is still trying to trademark “Halloween Havoc” and have yet to have success with that.
- Looks like there was issues with another Halloween Havoc that it could be confused with? Honestly, it read as a bunch of legal jargon to me.
- Tye Dillinger’s recent Twitter activity has led to speculation about his status with WWE. There doesn’t appear to be any change in that as of right now.
- He asked for his release and is in AEW now. He just had a big angle with Cody.
- PW Insider notes the belief is Double or Nothing will take place sometime this spring.
- It was in May. (1/1)
- Jim Ross and Chris Jericho will be very involved with All Elite Wrestling, according to sources of rajah.com.
- They are both big parts. (2/2)
- Those sources also say AEW will “go hard” after WWE talent and other personnel. The promotion will feature a mix of younger wrestlers and legends, with Goldberg being a name on their wish list.
- We don’t know who they went at, but they signed Jon Moxley and Shawn Spears. Goldberg just had a Saudi match against Undertaker. If they were interested before that, they probably aren’t afterwards.
- Tony Khan, who rajah says is fronting the $100 million launch of the company, is using his media connections to try and secure a TV contract. They’re supposedly talking to Time Warner about getting on TBS/TNT.
- TNT indeed. (1/1)
- On Wrestling Observer’s Filthy Four Daily with Tom Lawlor, Bryan Alvarez said Vince McMahon is considering “switching up The New Day again”. He did caution that he’s thought about this in the past before deciding not to change the act, but was considering “doing something different” with the trio as recently as last week.
- They’re still together, though Kofi is champ. (0/1)
- There was some talk of Anthem selling Impact to AEW, but All Elite passed on the deal according to Wrestling Observer Newsletter. That report has led to speculation WWE’s meeting with Impact execs last summer also involved talk of a sale.
- Impact is still its own thing.
- According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE made a “fantastic” offer to Kenny Omega. It’s still not clear what he’ll be doing.
- He signed with AEW (he’s an executive vice president), but he spoke highly of the meeting he had with WWE. (He didn’t speak so highly of them recently.)
- He also said that AEW, NJPW, and ROH will meet after Wrestle Kingdom about potentially working together, though he cautions politics could get in the way of this ultimately happening.
- AEW allows their talent to work some international dates, so Mox and Jericho are working Japan. Maybe Kenny will. But it’s not a working relationship in the sense there’s any known deals between the companies.
- Bryan Alvarez mentioned that WWE officials will be attending the AEW rally to “monitor” the situation.
- Some scabs in the audience.
- Nikki Bella is now dating Artem Chigvintsev, per Us Weekly. He’ll appear on Total Bellas’ next season.
- I have no idea who this is. There will be a 5th season so I’ll sit on this.
- Per PW Insider, MLW signed Davey Boy Smith Jr. after ROH tried to sign him before the MLW live special on BeIN Sports. ROH, however, denies that.
- Well they’re certainly not working together.
- Although there’s been talk about his contract coming up, AJ Styles is expected to stay with WWE in the coming years.
- He signed a new (and apparently his last) contract with them. AJ just turned heel and reunited with the Club, who also look to have re-signed. (1/1)
- The NXT call ups who have been advertised for some time now are expected to start showing up as early as next week.
- They did not. (0/1)
- Dave Meltzer mentioned on Wrestling Observer Radio that the AEW rally being held on Jan. 8, the same night as SmackDown, was coincidental. It was just the earliest it could happen after Wrestle Kingdom.
- It could be. But there are also no coincidences.
- He also says Double or Nothing is likely happening in April and will likely take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. They expect to outdraw ALL IN.
- May in Vegas. (1/2)
- Sports Pro Media says Sinclair is in talks with the Yankees and Cubs to partner up for regional networks in 2020. That could mean ROH in major markets here soon.
- I guess we’ll see.
This Week: 9/17 - 53%
December 2018: 45/70 - 64%
2018: 547/970 - 56.4%
Overall: 2,806/5,085 - 55.2%
Have a great week, everyone!