Rumor Look Back: Jun. 19 - 25, 2021

Welcome to the weekly Rumor Look Back, where we look at the rumors from six months ago and see which played out as originally stated. Let’s get right to it!

June 19, 2021

• Becky Lynch has been working out at the Performance Center as part of the process of her getting ready to return to WWE, per PW Insider.
• She returned at SummerSlam.
• According to Jon Alba, Edge is currently scheduled for SummerSlam working as a babyface on SmackDown.
• That’s accurate. He had a feud with Seth Rollins when he was clearly the babyface. (1/1)
• Andrew Zarian of Mat Men Podcast noted that USA Network was not happy about FOX getting the Hell in a Cell match between Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio.
• Balancing both networks is probably tough some times.
• Fightful Select says Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn was pitched and seemingly set to be a Hell in a Cell match but then that was changed early Friday.
• Maybe one day. Though now they’re both heels, and on different brands.
• The Wrestling Observer says Karrion Kross and Bronson Reed worked dark matches before SmackDown this week so “the key powers could see them live and get a first-hand look.”
• Say it with with me now... they’ve since been released.

June 21, 2021

• WrestlingNews.co was told that WWE hopes The Rock will wrestle at Survivor Series 2021. WWE wants him there to celebrate 25 years since his WWF debut at Survivor Series 1996.
• He did not show up at all. (0/1)
• Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian mentioned that WWE originally wanted a deal with Brock Lesnar for SummerSlam 2021, but they ended up working out a deal with John Cena instead. Even so, Lesnar will be “returning soon.”
• Lesnar returned at SummerSlam. (1/1)
• According to Fightful, one of the ideas that NBC pitched to WWE for a gimmick theme show was “NFL Night,” which would include football-related matches and angles. The idea of a “Points Month” was also introduced, with wrestlers accumulating points for certain achievements and moves.
• That never happened. It would be pretty rough when their NFL Night got destroyed in the ratings by the actual NFL.
• Following up on last week’s rumor about Piper Niven’s likely name on the main roster, WWE filed a trademark for “Doudrop” last Monday, June 14.
• Doudrop was the name. (1/1)
• PW Insider was told that NXT wrestler Ridge Holland has “thrown himself into rehab in a massive way” and is seen nearly every day at the Performance Center. He’s been praised for maintaining a great attitude despite the gruesome nature of his lower body injuries.
• He returned rather quickly from such a nasty set of injuries.

June 22, 2021

• WrestleVotes says two matches currently planned for SummerSlam 2021 are Edge vs. Seth Rollins, and John Cena vs. Roman Reigns.
• Those two were on the card (2/2)
• Ringside News was told there are currently no plans for Brock Lesnar to be part of the upcoming WWE Draft.
• He was a free agent so he was not named in the draft. (1/1)
• On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said there are people at the FOX network who are not happy with WWE promoting Peacock on their programming, because they see it as boosting a rival streaming service.
• Again, difficult to serve two competing entities.
• According to PW Insider, Becky Lynch was backstage at Hell in a Cell.
• Probably just chillin’.
• Former WWE wrestlers Billie Kay and Peyton Royce have filed a trademark for “The IInspiration.”
• They’re current Impact Knockous tag team champions.

June 23, 2021

• Fightful Select notes that many within different departments of WWE have been expecting Brock Lesnar to return but there has been no promotional material prepped for any return just yet.
• He returned in about a month. (1/1)
• They also say NXT will be adding focus to the cruiserweight division.
• Kind of the opposite. (0/1)
• According to PW Insider, WWE put Hell in a Cell matches on SmackDown and Raw to give something extra to TV partners and as a way to get attention ahead of the company returning to live touring.
• I was surprised Roman’s championship match was on SmackDown and not the PPV.
• Dave Meltzer mentioned on Wrestling Observer Radio that Kevin Owens taking time off from WWE is “storyline related.”
• He missed... check notes... and entire one episode of SmackDown. (1/1)
• Meltzer also said Damian Priest has a bad back and that could be why he’s been missing from WWE television of late but Fightful Select claims it’s not a back issue and he’s been gone due to other reasons.
• “Other reasons” is rather vague.

June 24, 2021

• WrestleVotes heard one idea for the upcoming WWE Draft is to move Big E to Raw. In this scenario, he would still be pushed as a singles wrestler despite being on the same show as Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston.
• That’s the case on both accounts. In fact, Woods and Kofi were moved to SmackDown. Honestly, I think they should have kept them together and let New Day be the anchor of Raw. (2/2)
• According to PW Insider, the decision-makers in WWE who decided to release Aleister Black never asked the NXT people if they wanted him there.
• They were just ready to cut bait because they love releasing people too much.
• In preparation for the WWE Draft, Ringside News was told that a preliminary internal list of wrestlers was given out, and it includes Goldberg and Undertaker.
• Neither dude was on the final draft list. (0/2)
• Fightful says the Diamond Mine was originally supposed to debut in NXT much earlier, but it was delayed multiple times so that it could receive the proper spotlight on an episode.
• It ended up having different members than originally planned because of the releases.
• HeelByNature explains that there is a trademark conflict brewing right now between Keith Lee and WWE over his ring name.
• I guess it’s not an issue now since he’s been released.

June 25, 2021

• Fightful Select said Nick Khan led a meeting on Friday and made the decision on the most recent WWE releases.
• He’s definitely the guy who is getting the blame, and I don’t think he minds that at all.
• They also said there were wrestlers they heard would be released who haven’t been and wrestlers they didn’t hear about who were.
• I wonder why the last minute changes if these rumblings are true.
• In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was noted Becky Lynch wasn’t brought back at WrestleMania because WWE wanted to sign her to a new deal first.
• Hopefully she got herself paid.
• They also say the new Raw and SmackDown sets will debut in July for the return to the road.
• They did, but they’re nothing special. (1/1)
• Andrew Zarian says WWE booking NYC for Sept. 10 has nothing to do with AEW running there on Sept. 22.
• They run NY fairly often.

This week: 11/15 - 73%

Overall: 3,995/7,065 - 56.5%

Have a great week, everyone!