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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 stated. Let’s jump right to it
- A source told WrestleVotes that morale is high and WWE staff members are excited about the debut of WWE ThunderDome.
- Morale rumors are fragile and sometimes there’s a rumor just a week later from the same source that says the opposite. But I can understand why moving to the Dome was an exciting time. The product definitely got better from that point on and really saved them from what could have been a really rough year in regards to their televised product.
- According to Fightful, WWE wants secrets about ThunderDome to remain under wraps, and staff is risking their jobs if photos leak.
- I think some photos came out from people working on the construction, but they may have been allowed. Or those people got in trouble.
- UFC Reporter Aaron Bronsteter mentioned that CM Punk is still following protocols for UFC’s drug testing policy.
- I don’t think he’ll ever fight again. He called some MMA for the Cage Fury Fight Championships promotion, which was streamed on UFC Fight Pass, so he has that as a way to stay involved. Also, the dude is straight edge so he was probably following protocols either way.
- On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer claimed that a SmackDown tag title reign was planned for the Forgotten Sons prior to Jaxson Ryker’s tweet that got them removed from television.
- Yeah, that Ryker tweet really derailed these guys’ careers. Ryker is occasionally on TV as Elias’ roadie, but hasn’t been seen even in that capacity in awhile. Steve Cutler has been released after not being serious enough regarding COVID protocols. That left Wesley Blake floating in the breeze again.
- NXT head writer Joe Belcastro gave his notice last week and is already gone, per Meltzer.
- I wonder why. Maybe just not a good fit? Triple H framed it as Joe had an opportunity he wanted to explored that he didn’t want to pass up.
- Per the Wrestling Observer, Randy Orton winning the WWE title at SummerSlam leading to a WrestleMania match against Edge has been thrown around as an idea within the company.
- It did not happen. He won the title at Hell in a Cell and held it briefly before losing it back to McIntyre. It’ll be Edge vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. (0/1)
- However, there is another contingent who believe Drew McIntyre should remain champion instead of putting the belt back on someone who has been around a long time.
- I mean they did put the gold on Randy, but it was very short lived. McIntyre just lost it to the Miz, but I’m sure he’ll be challenging for it (likely against Bobby Lashley) at WrestleMania.
- The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that Renee Young has agreed to work through SummerSlam weekend for WWE.
- That was accurate. (1/1)
- They also say Rey Mysterio’s new deal is “believed to be for three years.”
- I think he’ll be around for a bit to be around his son and aid in his growth.
- There’s still no start date for the second AEW prime time show but it should be sooner rather than later, according to the Observer.
- That still hasn’t happened. So not really sooner. We have two Darks though! (0/1)
- WWE is treating the move to ThunderDome as a “restart of sorts” according to WrestleVotes. Roman Reigns is one of a couple possible returns, and we should expect new storylines as part of “different but pretty cool” plans.
- I’d agree with all this. Roman did return, as well as Sami Zayn. Plus they finally broke up Bayley and Sasha. (2/2)
- According to Beth Hardy, WWE and Jeff are holding off on bringing back his “No More Words” theme until live crowds return.
- Still waiting to see on that. I look forward to its return if true.
- Some Jaxson Ryker Instagram posts have caused speculation Forgotten Sons might be returning to television for the first time since Ryker’s pro-Donald Trump tweet.
- The Forgotten Sons never returned. (0/1)
- Eddie Kingston mentioned Rey Mysterio during his promo on Saturday’s Dynamite, but Fightful says AEW edited the WWE Superstar’s name out of the segment.
- I wonder why. Rey Mysterio isn’t a name that WWE owns (at least with Jr. afterwards). Maybe they just didn’t want to tease something they can’t deliver.
- The Britt Baker/Reba/Penelope Ford & Kip Sabian scene originally happened in the ring, but was re-shot backstage to better hit time cues. A spot in the Dark Order/Elite match was reshot to cover a botch, and Diamante & Ivelisse’s entrances were scrapped due to a production error.
- Sounds like that episode was having issues with keeping time.
- WWE kept Roman Reigns return a secret from most of the roster, per Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.
- Helps ensure nothing gets leaked.
- Meltzer also said the stipulation to Sonya Deville vs. Mandy Rose was changed because Deville’s lawyer didn’t think she should get her head shaved before her upcoming court appearances.
- That’s understandable. That was a terrible situation all around.
- Also from Observer Radio: The Miz filled in for Xavier Woods on the premiere of Talking Smack because Woods was not told to be in Orlando before they announced him as host.
- Not letting your host know in time sounds like a solid way of doing business. He was a short lived host given he was moved to Raw within a couple months.
- Mauro Ranallo missed TakeOver: XXX as he was in Canada dealing with a family situation, according to Meltzer.
- Mauro never returned to NXT.
- And rounding out the all WOR Round-Up, Pat McAfee and Adam Cole did not rehearse anything prior to their TakeOver: XXX match. They ‘just went in there and did it because they knew Pat was good and they know Adam is great.’
- That’s damned impressive for both Pat and Adam.
- According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Vince McMahon made a lot of late changes to Monday Night Raw this week.
- That doesn’t sound surprising at all.
- It was noted that most changes occurred during the day but the show wasn’t totally done until it was already an hour in.
- That’s got to be very high stress.
- He also said that all the Payback matches they had planned will be going ahead and weren’t changed.
- Well that’s something.
- For what it’s worth, Paul Ellering told the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast that there were plans in place for him to return to manage AOP before the pandemic hit.
- The AOP was released a week after this rumor.
- Per PW Insider, the expectation is Cody will miss significant time selling the injuries from the Dark Order attack on Dynamite, so don’t expect to see him on TV again anytime soon
- It was less than a month. (0/1)
- Three or four more matches are expected to be added to Sunday’s Payback card.
- I count at least three added late. That makes sense given they had a week to book the entire card so would spend the entire week doing it. (1/1)
- Keith Lee’s music change happened because WWE is trying to convince stars to stop using CF0$-created songs, according to Fightful Select. Unlike other past composers like Jim Johnston, WWE only owns 50% of each track made by CFO$.
- His original music was pretty lame. His newest music is a step up, but I probably like his CFO$ better.
- Lee is said to have approved the change, but as many have pointed out, turning down the company right before his main roster debut might not have been the smartest move politically.
- I’m sure Keith knows he has to pick his battles.
- WWE Music blog Arcadetaping says Lee will have a new song at Payback.
- It took awhile for him to have new music. I’ll admit it’s possible he had a generic song on his debut and another very generic song at Payback, but his newest music took months. (0/1)
- On Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez said WWE will be making changes to ensure offensive images don’t end up on ThunderDome screens again. While Alvarez said he didn’t know for sure what specific changes would be made, the impression he gets is that they’ll ensure fans who have obeyed the rules in the past get the most visible spots on the broadcast.
- We haven’t had an issue like a KKK member or Chris Benoit watching again. So they did something. (1/1)
This week: 5/10 - 50%
Overall: 3,655/6,505 - 56.2%
Have a good week, everyone. Stay safe everyone.