#5. Hope is true: Seth Rollins and another WWE star squash real-life beef
Seth Rollins has been absent from WWE since the final part of 2020, taking paternity leave. It’s well deserved for someone who has been at it non-stop since his return from injury in 2016.
There were rumors that Seth Rollins had real-life heat with WWE star Riddle. It stemmed from his appearance on WWE Watch Along, where he stated before the Draft that he had ’no interest’ in working with Riddle and stated that he could have gone to RAW instead. That’s exactly what happened and both men ended up swapping brands.
According to Fightful, several people backstage at WWE Survivor Series stated that the two had squashed their beef and discussed their issues:
We hope this is true because the door would be open for them to work together in the future. It also helps Riddle, who has seemingly had beef with the likes of Goldberg and Brock Lesnar.
While the Goldberg beef was public and caught on camera, the interaction with Brock Lesnar reportedly saw the latter tell Riddle that they wouldn’t work together at any point in the future.
#5. Hope isn’t true: Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns prevented a big WWE debut
Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens had been feuding for the WWE Universal title throughout December 2020. According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio (WOR), we were supposed to see the WWE main roster debut of former NXT North American Champion Damian Priest.
Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out because Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns felt the angle didn’t make much sense:
We hope this isn’t true. Not because we felt it was the right angle, but the fact that it prevented Damian Priest’s debut. Admittedly, we agree that the best friend angle didn’t make much sense.
#4. Hope is true: Two NXT stars being planned for a WWE main roster move
Moves from NXT to the WWE main roster don’t always work out, but for certain stars, the move can be exciting. Two former Champions from NXT could be making their move to the WWE main roster.
According to PWInsider, Rhea Ripley’s loss to Raquel Gonzalez and Damian Priest’s loss to Karrion Kross at New Year’s Evil indicated the end of their run with NXT:
We hope this is true because both Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley are ready for the WWE main roster. One could argue that the latter has more potential to succeed long-term.
#4. Hope isn’t true: WWE Champion Drew McIntyre set for another rematch?
Drew McIntyre has been the face of WWE for most of 2020. Emerging to the top during the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped carry RAW through the most unique period in WWE history.
A defining part of that came during his feud with Randy Orton in the summer of 2020. He would lose the WWE Championship to Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell, only to regain it a couple of weeks later.
His feud with Randy Orton was, and ideally should be done, but WWE has decided to revisit it in a non-title match this coming week on RAW. WWE put out a video advertising the two rivals in a non-title match on RAW.
We hope this isn’t true, because a non-title match on RAW seems to be a waste of their feud. It could simply be to build Drew McIntyre up as a Goldberg opponent, but does it need to be at Randy Orton’s expense?
It doesn’t seem like a match that WWE needs to revisit anytime soon.
#3. Hope is true: Roman Reigns to confront WWE authority figure Adam Pearce next week
SmackDown’s Universal title picture scene took a whole new turn heading into Royal Rumble. WWE decided to go on a rather unconventional path. While Shinsuke Nakamura seemed positioned to be Roman Reigns’ Royal Rumble opponent, a whole new twist emerged as authority figure Adam Pearce was entered into the match.
Thanks to help from Roman Reigns and Jey Uso, a beaten-down Adam Pearce pinned Shinsuke Nakamura to become the next Universal title challenger at WWE Royal Rumble 2021.
According to WrestlingInc, WWE announced a segment for next week where Roman Reigns will confront Adam Pearce:
We hope this is true because it could be an interesting segment in an already-interesting storyline. Shinsuke Nakamura will also face Jey Uso, indicating that he might still have a chance of challenging for the Universal title.
#3. Hope isn’t true: Ric Flair’s botched moment on WWE RAW
RAW Legends Night saw Ric Flair as one of the many old names from WWE to appear. Ric Flair cornered his daughter Charlotte Flair in her tag team match against Peyton Royce and Lacey Evans.
Charlotte Flair was tripped by Ric Flair, and her opponents picked up the win in the end. According to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live (WOL), it was a botched moment by the two-time WWE Hall of Famer:
We hope this isn’t true because botches are always inconvenient, but the outcome of the match did leave the WWE Women’s tag team title picture open. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, along with Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, appear to be opponents in line for the titles in the future.
#2. Hope is true: Backstage reaction in WWE to Snoop Dogg’s AEW appearances
WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg appeared on AEW Dynamite and gave a rather underwhelming frog splash. Since he has a long-standing relationship with WWE, there was some speculation as to whether he had backstage heat in the company.
According to Fightful Select, there is no backstage heat in WWE towards Snoop Dogg for his AEW appearance:
We hope this is true because it wouldn’t make much sense if there was anything held against him. Snoop Dogg is not tied-down to WWE in any way, shape, or form, and seems to be enjoying his occasional appearances in wrestling.
#2. Hope isn’t true: WWE’s possible opponent for Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37
WrestleMania 36 was supposed to feature a Universal title match between WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg and Roman Reigns. While it would have been a natural coronation for Roman Reigns again, it was a match that would have likely garnered mainstream attention.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened, and lockdowns took place worldwide. Roman Reigns pulled out of WrestleMania 36 and was replaced by Braun Strowman - who won the Universal Championship from Goldberg instead.
According to WON, WWE is highly-likely to rebook the feud for WrestleMania 37:
We hope this isn’t true because Roman Reigns is at a different stage in his WWE career, and there are better opponents for him. If Goldberg is to be in the Universal title match at WrestleMania, he will likely be the contender this time around. To jump from the WWE title picture to the Universal title picture during WrestleMania season seems less than ideal.
#1. Hope is true: Daniel Bryan pushing WWE to utilize more NXT stars
Daniel Bryan will likely be in the Universal/WWE title picture for a couple of more years to come, but upon his own admission, he seems to be entering the final stages of his career.
Daniel Bryan is one of the few Superstars who reportedly has creative control. It’s not something Vince McMahon gives to many Superstars, but according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), he is trying to push for younger stars and more WWE NXT talent despite the lack of interest:
We hope this is true because Daniel Bryan has a good creative vision, and using his influence to help younger superstars is the best thing he can do.
#1. Hope isn’t true: WWE’s interest in Jay White
28-year old Jay White has emerged as one of the biggest names in wrestling outside of WWE in the last couple of years. He competed in an important main event match against Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 15 Day Two - losing to the Japanese star.
It’s always post-Wrestle Kingdom when rumors about certain big NJPW stars moving to WWE emerge. Perhaps the Superstars let the rumors play out to leverage a better contract, but there appears to be serious interest from WWE towards Jay White.
Dave Meltzer gave an update on the situation, stating that Jay White told AEW in 2018 that he was signed to a seven-year contract. That may not necessarily be true, and Meltzer went on to affirm that his contract with NJPW was possibly up.
While we understand WWE’s interest, we hope this isn’t true. The only reason we say so is because Jay White is still only 28 years old, which means that he is yet to hit his prime despite his accomplishments at a young age.
Male wrestlers usually hit their prime in their 30s, and WWE has enough top-tier talent. Unless there’s a clear path for Jay White, it doesn’t make sense for a jump to WWE just yet.
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