Rumor Look Back: Oct. 4 - 10, 2020

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

October 5, 2020

• In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter it was noted Edge’s recovery from injury is apparently going slower than expected but he’s still expected back in time for WrestleMania next year.
• He’s main eventing it. (1/1)
• Wrestlingnews.co is claiming a new stable will be forming with Roman Reigns as its leader and The Usos underneath him, with the potential for others to get involved as well.
• I wouldn’t say that it’s a stable since it’s just Roman and Jey Uso as his underline. Jimmy hasn’t returned. It looked like maybe they’d do something with Apollo but his heel turn, while maybe affected by Paul Heyman, wasn’t as part of a Reigns stable. (0/1)
• According to Wrestling Inc, WWE created and moved to the Capitol Wrestling Center out of a desire to have live fans back at shows.
• I remember the first night, front and center there was some dude who kept screaming with his mask pulled down. I think they’ve clamped down that because I haven’t noticed that since.
• They also say there’s been a lot of talk within the company about NXT falling behind AEW in viewership, and that has played a part in needing to give NXT a fresh new look.
• Prior to the pandemic, there were rumors about them doing some shows on the road because their product looked more amateur compared to AEW’s in front of large crowds. I wonder if that’ll ever happen. Maybe not now that they’re no longer competing on the same night.
• Per the Observer, Harold Meij leaving New Japan was apparently in the works for a long while.
• I didn’t pay close attention to this story because I’m not a big New Japan guy. I guess Harold Meij isn’t either any more.

October 6, 2020

• The main event of TakeOver 31 was cut short due to the injuries suffered by Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly, according to Wrestling Observer Radio.
• This makes sense. It was a great match but ended a bit abruptly. Finn’s broken jaw likely was a factor in that.
• On Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez said it was Bálor who called for the finish. O’Reilly was said to be okay after being checked out backstage.
• He was the one with fractures in his jaw.
• Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer said WWE wants to make Damian Priest “a big star.”
• We’ll see how that goes. Rumors are still he’s well liked, but opinions change fast in the E.
• A quickly deleted tweet from WWE’s official account asking fans to predict Raw, SmackDown & NXT’s first picks increased chatter about all three brands participating in this week’s Draft.
• Only Raw & SmackDown. That’s good. NXT should be a bit more independent. (0/1)
• Candice LeRae is done in the NXT Women’s title picture, says Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso. He’s one of many speculating about LeRae and Johnny Gargano getting called up in the Draft.
• She got a Women’s title shot in the main event of Halloween Havoc. The Garganos weren’t called up. (0/2)

October 7, 2020

• WrestleVotes notes that there have been ideas pitched to get the Money in the Bank briefcase off Otis but Vince McMahon is a big fan and it doesn’t look like that will be happening.
• That did happen. He lost it to the Miz. (0/1)
• PW Insider notes that while WWE has stopped and started the Andrade/Angel Garza break up, the two are finally done for good going forward.
• There wasn’t much of a payoff to the break up. Then again, Andrade didn’t have a match for WWE after Oct. 12. (1/1)
• John Morrison and AJ Styles are names that have been floating around as possibly moving to Raw in the WWE Draft.
• Both moved to Raw. (2/2)
• The injuries WWE announced to Velveteen Dream and Adam Cole from NXT TakeOver 31 are said to be storyline.
• Injuries are always tough rumors because sometimes there are some mild injuries that get embellished.
• Fans who participate in the ThunderDome shows on the screens are apparently told before a wrestler comes out and encouraged to react to them however they’d like.
• I’ve never sat in the ThunderDome. Has anyone done so? Let us know what it’s like below.

October 8, 2020

• Sasha Banks & Bayley’s feud has long been the plan, but according to Wrestling Observer Radio WWE kept pushing it back because of how great their heel tag team act was.
• Understandable. The Golden Role Models were one of the few reasons to watch during the PC shows.
• Ronda Rousey’s WWE contract is set to expire on April 10, 2021, reports TMZ.
• That makes sense. A deal that encompasses three WrestleManias (though she only worked two of them).
• Ben Carter impressed for AEW a few weeks back, and WWE is interested in signing him, per Fightful Select.
• WWE did sign him and then changed his name. (1/1)
• On Twitter, Dave Meltzer wrote that Tanahashi’s appearance on Dynamite wasn’t necessarily a sign of a thaw in AEW/New Japan relations.
• They thawed eventually.
• During an appearance on the Sitting Ringside podcast (via WrestlingNews.co), Eric Young said Triple H wanted to bring him back to NXT after WrestleMania until the pandemic changed everything.
• EY never should have been called up. He was always going to get lost on the main roster.

October 9, 2020

• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer heard that Finn Balor’s broken jaw injury was “made to be worse than it is, whatever that means.”
• He missed a lot of time. I don’t know whatever that means, but it was pretty legit.
• There is speculation going around that Mercedes Martinez has already been removed from RETRIBUTION, but WWE’s official draft pool suggests otherwise.
• She was removed from RETRIBUTION. (1/2)
• Inside the Ropes was told by multiple sources that WWE wanted to headline a pay-per-view in the UK earlier this year with Drew McIntyre vs. Tyson Fury, but the coronavirus pandemic nixed those plans.
• I remember Drew angling for that match on Corey Graves’ pod.
• Fightful says there is confusion among some WWE wrestlers about the royalty money they’ll receive from the WWE 2K Battlegrounds video game.
• Probably less than they expected or hoped for.
• Ember Moon mentioned to Sports Illustrated that she had no idea that Toni Storm’s return would be announced right before hers at NXT TakeOver 31.
• It was a good double reveal.

October 10, 2020

• WrestleVotes notes that there were plans as of yesterday morning to move Bray Wyatt over to Monday Night Raw.
• He moved to Raw. (1/1)
• Angel Garza’s injury isn’t as bad as expected, per the Observer, and he should only miss a couple weeks.
• He was fighting 2 days later. So not as bad as expected, which is the spirit of the rumor. But technically, he didn’t even miss a couple weeks. Because of that, I opted not to grade this.
• The expectation is that once Florida starts to allow as much, WWE will be bringing fans back for arena shows, possibly as soon as November.
• WWE is playing it surprisingly conservative (for them) with fans on their main show. (0/1)
• Having said that, the Observer notes AEW will only run at Daily’s Place for the foreseeable future and has no plans to change that.
• Yeah, it has been Daily’s since this rumor. (1/1)
• According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there are people on both sides between AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling who want to put a deal together. It seems closer now than ever before.
• It happened within the six months. (1/1)

This week: 9/16 - 56%

Overall: 3,709/6,592 - 56.3%

Have a great week, everyone. Stay safe out there.