:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69363125/Eva.0.png)
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.
- Based on Sasha Banks’ comments about Alexa Bliss during an interview with Stephanie Chase, there’s speculation the beef between the two has been squashed.
- Well that’s good. Can’t hold a grudge forever. Well, you can. But you probably shouldn’t.
- Roman Reigns feud with Daniel Bryan should start soon, likely after Bryan faces Jey Uso again.
- There was a long KO feud first. (0/1)
- Dave Meltzer said on Wresting Observer Radio he thinks Miz won the Money in the Bank briefcase “because they needed a guy who could not cash it in this year.”
- What does “this year” mean? Calendar year or holding the briefcase past the date Otis won it? Miz ended up cashing it in at Elimination Chamber.
- After being informed of her release, Zelina Vega asked to speak to Vince McMahon but was told McMahon didn’t want to speak to her. The story in Wrestling Observer Newsletter says she was then escorted from the building.
- Seems like that could lead to some bad blood, but if word she’s coming back is true, I guess not.
- WWE had interest in Jade Cargill before she signed with AEW, according to Fightful Select.
- She’s very new, but she has a ton of potential.
- We’ll see how it fits in with last night’s Raw booking, but Wrestling Observer says a Braun Strowman/Drew McIntyre WWE title match will be the main event of TLC.
- That wasn’t even a match at TLC. Drew faced AJ Styles & the Miz, and that match was not the main event. (0/1)
- The Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan Universal title match SmackDown’s building to may happen on that show, but Dave Meltzer writes “it’s leaning toward a later date.”
- That feud didn’t start until February. (1/1)
- WrestlingNews.co says word backstage is Vince McMahon has accepted Undertaker’s retirement and won’t ask him to come back.
- Yeah, we’ll see.
- Michelle McCool & Taker’s family and Edge were among the names who came in for the Final Farewell but didn’t appear on-screen at Survivor Series. PW Insider reports WWE did a lot of filming backstage that will be used on future Network specials.
- Edge probably just showed up out of respect for Taker, which is not surprising.
- Drew Gulak was in the Gobbledy Gooker costume on Sunday night, per Insider.
- Better than a rose up the bum hole.
- Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that he was told WWE has no card for TLC as of right now other than the previously mentioned Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman title match.
- That match wasn’t even on the show - so I guess no matches.
- Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt could be happening on the show, however.
- That was the main event - when Orton burned Wyatt alive. (1/1)
- According to the Observer, Survivor Series was the last appearance from Seth Rollins for a while, as he’s leaving for the birth of his child with Becky Lynch.
- That’s accurate. It was a write off. (1/1)
- Fightful notes that the plan for Swoggle moving forward is to continue doing the parody gimmick of AJ Styles he debuted last night.
- I don’t think that became a thing. (0/1)
- Ricky Starks told Chris Van Vliet that WWE contacted him immediately after he debuted for AEW.
- He’s got a ton of potential. Unfortunately currently out with an injury, but when he’s back, sky’s the limit.
- Sources in WWE creative tell Ringside News there’s been no mention of Eva Marie and therefore no plans for her return angle. Reports from September said Eva had re-signed with the company.
- Eva is coming back. They’re running the teaser vids. But man did she make us (and especially Geno) wait. Those rumors were floating around awhile given this mentions rumors from 8 months ago. Every so often, Geno would jump into the Cageside offices and ask where she was. (0/1)
- During an appearance on Dan Matha’s Spark in the Dark podcast (H/T Post Wrestling) former NXT wrestler Cezar Bononi said he made $600 - $750 per week on his developmental contract. He also claimed WWE “never wanted to help” him get his Green Card.
- That’s a pretty small amount of money.
- PW Insider says there’s been a “renewed push” for WWE referees to enforce rules and call matches as if they were real.
- That should always be the case.
- The double countout and restart of the Hurt Business vs. New Day match on Raw this week happened because of that. According to Wrestling Observer Live, Kofi Kingston & Shelton Benjamin botched their spot and couldn’t make the ten count.
- I remember that - pretty obvious it wasn’t the plan.
- Fit Finlay and Shane “Hurricane” Helms have returned to work at WWE as producers, per PW Insider. Both were among those furloughed in April.
- At least some people got hired back. Of course this week, a lot of people lost their jobs.
- According to Fightful, the setup for WWE ThunderDome inside Tropicana Field is taking longer than expected due to the wide open space.
- That venue had the most backstage space, which I bet the talent appreciated.
- Fightful also says that the Amway Center in Orlando will now allow WWE to use the building through Monday, Dec. 7, instead of kicking WWE out on Dec. 5. The plan is to move into Tropicana Field for Dec. 10.
- Looks to be accurate. (1/1)
- PW Insider notes that Vince McMahon booked Undertaker’s Final Farewell segment at Survivor Series and was very hands on with it. Triple H was also likely involved.
- That’s not surprising given Vince definitely appreciates all Undertaker has given him.
- Wrestling Inc was told that Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring decided against producing an episode on Chyna for the upcoming season.
- I wonder why.
- Insider also mentions that Brian Kendrick has recently been working as a producer for NXT.
- Kendrick has a good mind for the business so if true, he’d be a good source of knowledge for that talent.
- Per the Observer, SmackDown was apparently a “mess” backstage with the show still being worked on close to it going on the air. This has become a regular occurrence of late.
- Interestingly enough, SmackDown remained a pretty consistently entertaining show during that time.
- According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan is planned but they’re leaning towards holding off on it until Royal Rumble and booking something else for TLC.
- They held off, but they didn’t run it at the Rumble either. (1/2)
- They also say that Bryan could be in the main event of TLC, as that has also been discussed.
- That is not accurate. (0/1)
- Ringside News notes that the Wobbly Walrus character was dropped from Firefly Fun House because it was a Paul Heyman spoof and they never went through with the idea of a Roman Reigns-Bray Wyatt feud.
- I’m glad Wyatt and Roman didn’t butt heads. I don’t think their characters would mesh at all.
- As of now, there are no plans for Jon Moxley to go to the Tokyo Dome show, per the Observer
- He did not travel to Japan for that. (1/1)
This week: 6/12 - 50%
Overall: 3,759/6,685 - 56.2%
Have a good week, everyone!