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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 get right to it.
- The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes we may not know the top WrestleMania 37 matches until a few weeks before the show.
- They were set for awhile. They had to start selling nightly tickets. (0/1)
- They also say Shinsuke Nakamura is not currently being considered as a possible opponent for Roman Reigns at the show.
- He certainly was not an opponent. (1/1)
- He had mentioned talk of it already but Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that AEW will indeed move the Revolution pay-per-view to Sun., Mar. 7, 2021. The move was apparently made because AEW doesn’t want to go up against Canelo Alvarez’s next fight or a triple championship UFC card.
- That was the date. I dislike Sunday PPVs. WWE has some Saturday ones in the future which I appreciate. I just like to be able to go to bed late after a show without worrying about early work the next day. But that’s just me.
- PW Insider notes that Superstar Spectacle was overseen by Triple H and the NXT team, and the event was done to present NXT Indian talents “in the strongest light possible.”
- A few Indian wrestlers took Ls to established WWE talent, but they also picked up their fair share of Ws.
- The Observer notes that while Ryback has teased signing somewhere, he won’t be signing with AEW.
- He’s not working anywhere. (1/1)
- WWE informed the roster via its Talent Relations app that the company will not be providing COVID-19 vaccines for on-screen talent, according to Fightful Select. As independent contractors, if they want to get vaccinated they have to handle it on their own.
- At least the vaccine is free so the talent don’t have to pay for it. That said, WWE could have easily tried to get something going for them to make it easier. You’d think they would want more talent vaccinated.
- Reactions from wrestlers the site spoke to ranged from “shocked” to “frustrated but not surprised”. Some said there are senior members of staff who actively speak out against COVID and its existence altogether.
- Le sigh.
- PW Insider says Raw’s six-woman tag match last night was restarted because Shayna Baszler was legitimately counted out and that wasn’t the planned finish.
- That’ll happen sometimes.
- That site also says Dana Brooke is “100% OK after the rough bump she took from a Nia Jax chokeslam.”
- I don’t even remember this time, and usually rumors like this get people fired up about Nia’s work.
- Big Japan’s Hideki Suzuki left the country on a one way ticket, per Tokyo Sports. Speculation is he’s headed to WWE, where he’d join recent signees Jiro Kuroshio and Sareee.
- He’s in Diamond Mine in NXT, though hasn’t wrestled on TV yet. (1/1)
- For whatever it’s worth, WrestleVotes is saying they have a source saying there is a finish for the men’s Royal Rumble match under consideration that “scares the death out of” said source.
- Don’t know what the heck that means. Wouldn’t be Edge winning. Roman was already champion so it wasn’t another win by him. Maybe a legend who doesn’t deserve to win? Such as Goldberg losing to Drew but winning the Rumble to face Reigns?
- Fightful Select notes that WWE has announced potential surprises like Edge returning in the Royal Rumble match ahead of time because there won’t be live fans in the building. If there were fans, they wouldn’t have announced him ahead of time.
- That’s a reasonable explanation. They had to think differently with the ThunderDome, which hopefully is gone for good. Though with the more contagious delta variant, you never know. Luckily with vaccines holding up pretty well, they won’t feel a need to start limiting indoor gatherings like these. But we’ll see.
- Per SK Wrestling, WrestleMania 37 will be “a parade of former stars,” with a large number of past stars appearing on the event.
- I wouldn’t call it that. There were few legends. Really just Shane McMahon. (0/1)
- Ringside News says John Cena is a lock for WrestleMania 37 this year. They also say it’s unclear who his opponent will be and it’s possible not even he knows who it is yet.
- He wasn’t on the show at all. He’ll be at SummerSlam in a month though. He just had to sign a contract that had someone else’s name on it, which is a realistic thing. (0/1)
- Dave Meltzer indicated on Wrestling Observer Radio that there are issues between WWE and ESPN after the Peacock deal was announced, as ESPN was in talks for the WWE Network. They may be done airing WWE content moving forward.
- They definitely still have a working relationship. WWE had a strong presence at the ESPYs. They are still covered on ESPN’s website. They were on different programs to promote WrestleMania. (0/1)
- Sources told Fightful Aleister Black hasn’t been seen backstage at SmackDown since his wife was released. One person told the site ”the company seems to think that they’re letting any ill will between the two subside.”
- They brought him back but then released him immediately. He’s in AEW now.
- PW Insider’s Mike Johnson wrote of Black: “I was told he was purposely pulled from television so he [can] come back and have a big dramatic debut for SmackDown, and it just hasn’t happened.” He agrees that could be because they want to let “the waters kind of calm” after Zelina Vega was let go.
- He didn’t have a dramatic re-debut. (0/1)
- Brock Lesnar clone Parker Boudreaux, who Paul Heyman has praised in the past, was at NXT last week speaking to WWE officials, per Fightful.
- He’s been signed.
- Speaking of Heyman, Wrestling Observer says he was backstage at Raw on Monday night because he’s “in charge of Bill Goldberg’s promos”.
- I believe he was instrumental in bringing him back for the Lesnar program the first time. Goldberg may be comfortable with him.
- Despite Don Callis’ comments at Hard to Kill, Fightful says Moose’s Impact contract is up in June.
- He’s still working with them. He’s possible he re-signed if his contract was up at that time.
- While discussing Rhea Ripley’s status for the Royal Rumble, F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer said that she is already “on the main roster.” Her debut was supposed to occur “a couple weeks ago,” but it was held off.
- She was in the Rumble but then MIA for a couple months and returned just week’s before WrestleMania to challenge Asuka.
- Ringside News was told that the current flow of information within the WWE creative process is the worst it’s ever been. Bruce Prichard can block opinions from getting to Vince McMahon from nearly everyone except for a small group that includes names like Kevin Dunn, Stephanie McMahon, Roman Reigns, Triple H, Paul Heyman, and Daniel Bryan.
- That’s got to be extremely frustrating. Roman and Bryan’s name being on the list is believable since at this time, their stuff was consistently good. Makes sense to have the boss’s ear.
- PW Insider confirmed that on Jan. 26, WWE filed a lawsuit against United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The nature of the lawsuit is unknown, but they speculate that it could be related to an inability to get a performer into the USA.
- I don’t recall any follow up on this.
- Fightful says that WWE is holding a six hour Royal Rumble rehearsal on Saturday (Jan. 30) in Orlando, Florida.
- I wonder if they do this each year.
- On Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer indicated that even if the NBA eventually settles on Mar. 7 as the date for their All-Star game, AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view will likely go on as currently scheduled.
- That was the date. (1/1)
- The Wrestling Observer Newsletter says the only match locked in for WrestleMania 37 at this moment is Roman Reigns but it’s unclear who his opponent will be.
- It ended up being Edge & Bryan. I don’t think Bryan was part of the plan at this time but added later.
- They also note speculation of the Firefly Fun House match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt being held off until WrestleMania being a possibility.
- They had a match but it was not a Fun House match. That never happened. And now it never will. (0/1)
- Seth Rollins name has come up as a possible surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match.
- He was #29. (1/1)
- The Observer notes there are rumors about Hideki Suzuki going to WWE, with Tokyo Sports saying he got a one-way ticket to the States.
- Same rumor as earlier. Still correct. (1/1)
- They also say that the New Japan Pro Wrestling television deal for the U.S. has been finalized since December but “it’s not something people would consider major.”
- It was Roku TV so definitely NOT major. (1/1)
- The men’s Royal Rumble is currently scheduled to main event the show. (Fightful)
- That’s accurate. (1/1)
- The women’s Royal Rumble will take place in the middle of the show. (PW Insider)
- Also accurate. (1/1)
- The women’s tag team title match has been moved to the Kickoff show. (PW Insider)
- Truth. (1/1)
- Carlito is currently scheduled to be a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match. (PW Insider)
- He was. Looked to be in good shape. (1/1)
- There are representatives from WWE 2K at the show doing work with wrestlers for the next game. (PW Insider)
- Did they mocap them getting stuck in the ropes?
- Matches for the Royal Rumble tonight have been adjusted on the fly. (Fightful)
- Plans always be changing.
- Jinder Mahal and Christian are backstage at the show, though it’s unclear if they will be used. (Wrestling Observer)
- Christian was a big surprise. Jinder wasn’t on the show. Hindered!
This week: 11/17 - 65%
January 2021: 38/60 - 63%
Overall: 3,826/6,803 - 56.2%
Have a great week, everyone!