Rumor Look Back: June 26 - July 1, 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 25, 2021 (last week’s June 25 was actualy June 26 rumors)

• Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian says the WWE Draft will be taking place on Aug. 30 and Sept. 3. WWE has big plans for which wrestlers are changing brands; the idea is to give this year’s draft a much bigger feel than previous years.
• The draft happened in October. Felt about as big as years past. (0/2)
• According to Fightful, Jeff Hardy’s WWE contract was either “restructured, re-signed or extended” in 2020. It is expected that Hardy will return to using “No More Words” for his entrance music when live fans return.
• He did use that tune, which I dig. That’s unfortunate since Jeff has left the company. (1/1)
• Fightful also says that two outside names are expected to show up at Impact’s Slammiversary on July 17. This includes one recent WWE release, while the other person is under contract somewhere else.
• Looks like both Mickey James (released) and Switchblade Jay White (from New Japan) showed up. (2/2)
• There is a lot of speculation that the extremely exciting name “Blair Davenport” will be given to Bea Priestley in NXT UK.
• That’s accurate. (1/1)
• Ruby Riott’s changed Instagram handle has led many people to believe that she has indeed locked down the new ring name of Ruby Soho.
• That is her name. There’s always an audience for wrestler name changes. The name in wrestling is very important. (1/1)

June 28, 2021

• On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Kevin Owens asked for personal time off and it was approved. As it turns out, he only asked for roughly two weeks off, hence his return match next week.
• Yeah, it was a short amount of time off.
• Fightful Select says MVP was backstage at NXT this week and that’s noteworthy because that’s not a common thing.
• He has not done anything on screen, but he’s a very smart mind to have around the younger talent.
• PW Insider says that the 205 Live wrestlers who were released were the higher paid of those on the show.
• That show is still a thing, but it’s lost any meaning that it had. And that wasn’t much to begin with.
• They also say that Hulu pays a nice rights fee and that has been the main factor in the show continuing.
• I wonder if that’s still a thing given how little the show means. Does Hulu care that it’s meaningless? Or do they just want content whether or not someone is going to watch it?
• Arturo Ruas and Marina Shafir were both planned to be members of the Diamond Mine in NXT before they were released, according to Fightful Select.
• It just shows the releases had no coordination with creative.

June 29, 2021

• Karrion Kross, Scarlett & Shotzi Blackheart were backstage at Raw last night. PW Insider says they were working dark matches so WWE officials could make decisions about potential call-ups. That trio and Bronson Reed had similar “tryouts” recently.
• Only Shotzi is still with the company. But everyone but Bronson made it to the main roster.
• Vince McMahon is planning a visit to the Performance Center to scout talent, per Fightful Select. The Chairman will most likely be in Orlando on Thursday.
• This was before NXT 2.0 took place.
• According to that site, Bruce Prichard and John Laurinaitis have made similar trips to the PC in recent weeks.
• I bet they were trying to figure out who stays, who gets more spotlight, and who goes during the transition.
• Fightful also reports WWE’s firing of writer Kenice Mobley wasn’t because of the fan backlash to her comments, but because wrestlers and staff felt disrespected by her comments. Talent they spoke to said it wasn’t unusual for writers to come in with no wrestling knowledge, but most make an effort to learn.
• I remember this brief controversy. It wasn’t the worst thing she said. But it didn’t make WWE look great and it didn’t look good that she didn’t know the name of the top guy on the show.
• Based on the above post-Dynamite photo Jungle Boy tweeted, it certainly appears he and Anna Jay are an item.
• Good looking couple.

June 30, 2021

• Fightful Select says there are more changes within WWE expected in the coming weeks, including some potentially big ones backstage.
• Seems like there’s constant upheaval.
• Sean Ross Sapp was told that talent backstage at NXT were informed Mercedes Martinez was taken to the hospital to be evaluated after it appeared she was knocked out during her match on NXT TV this week.
• That was nasty.
• On Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez said WWE is beefing up security at the Performance Center with word out that Vince McMahon will be visiting.
• Gotta protect the old man.
• Sonjay Dutt, who was a Producer at WWE, left the company by choice, says Fightful.
• He’s in AEW now.
• Heel By Nature notes WWE registered a trademark for “Happy Corbin” recently, so you can get an idea of where his character turn is going.
• That’s his current name. (1/1)

July 1, 2021

• Regarding the mandatory training sessions WWE’s holding in preparation for their return to the road, Fightful Select says several performers who’ve been off television returned to the Performance Center to take part, including Sasha Banks.
• Need to knock the rust off before hitting the road.
• They also note that talents who’ve recently asked for time off weren’t exempt from the trainings.
• That makes sense if they’re only doing it one time. But the PC is always there.
• Andrew Zarian recently provided some insight into Baron Corbin’s booking on F4WOnline’s We’re Live Pal, saying he’s “beloved” at WWE. A former writer told Zarian that Corbin is “one of the most pleasant people to work with because he will not be combative, and he works with you on stuff.”
• That’s really cool to hear.
• Shortly after news broke he’d resigned from WWE, PW Insider reports Sonjay Dutt was backstage at Dynamite last night. He’s believed to have signed on with AEW as a full-time producer.
• He is. (1/1)
• Video taken by Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net showed Rebel being helped to the back after her tag match on Dynamite. It appears she may have suffered a knee or leg injury.
• Damn.

This week: 7/9 - 78%

June 2021: 45/63 - 71%

Overall: 4,002/7,074 - 56.6%

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