The world of wrestling rumors is a fast paced minefield, with WWE, Impact, NJPW, AEW and many more promotions constantly ushering in talent signing and releases, planning matches or other spectacles and shifting their backstage building blocks. Let’s see if we can make sense of what’s going on, shall we?
I’m Tom Colohue and these are your Wrestling Rumor Reactions.
Tommaso Ciampa Injured
An injury to Tommaso Ciampa resulted in this week’s WWE Raw being rewritten. This is according to a PWInsider report. The report claims that the original plan for Raw this week would have featured a four corners tag team match with the teams of DIY, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, Black and Ricochet and an unnamed fourth. Ciampa has reportedly been working through the injury for several weeks.
An injury at this time could be a horrible thing for Ciampa, the current NXT champion and a competitor in this year’s Dusty Rhodes Classic tag team tournament. He is coming into WWE proper on a wave of momentum after a tremendous 2018. Let us hope that this supposed neck injury is not too serious and that Ciampa can recover in time for whatever the Wrestlemania plan may be.
Saudi Arabia Dates Revealed
In 2018, WWE made two appearances in Saudi Arabia for their Greatest Royal Rumble and Crown Jewel shows. Controversy at the time of Crown Jewel, particularly around the potential involvement of the Saudi Arabian royal family in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, led WWE to cease mentioning the country at all in advertisements and programming leading into the show. That said, they did choose to go ahead with the show despite pressure to change course.
According to a recent report from Rajah.com, a source has confirmed to them that WWE will return to Saudi Arabia for two shows in 2019. The dates of these shows would be May 3rd (a month after Wrestlemania) and November 1st (just before Survivor Series)
These are very similar dates to those of 2018. WWE have signed a 10-year deal with the Saudi Arabian royal family to provide shows in that country, making this report both consistent and logical.
Rajah.com also notes that there is no mention of another all women’s show on their current calendar. This is subject to change.
“Dead Man Talking”
Though there aren’t as many strong and interesting rumors to react to this week, there is certainly some major intrigue for those that there are. PWInsider has released the intriguing news that Starrcast LLC has put in an application to trademark the phrase “Dead Man Talking.”
The Undertaker is due to appear at this year’s Starrcast in the build up to All Elite Wrestling’s Double Or Nothing show. At current this is the only available information but speculation abounds that this may result in The Undertaker beginning a podcasting career.
It’s also possible that this could be a tour of speaking shows similar to those recently undergone by Mick Foley. Certainly, for Undertaker fans, this could shape up to be very interesting.
WWE Angry With Ronda Rousey
The wrestling business can be a sensitive one. In 1997, the infamous “Montreal Screwjob” exposed kayfabe, the special section of reality TV behind which pro wrestling exists. Kayfabe went on to be a major player in Vince Russo’s work as head writer at WCW. It was a confused and often battered kayfabe but it was kayfabe nonetheless.
This past Wednesday, Ronda Rousey went for Becky Lynch on Twitter and ended up attacking the wrestling business as a whole. Intentional or not this has caused issues, according to Diva Dirt’s Lauren Founds. A source within WWE has reportedly told Diva Dirt that Ronda Rousey is legitimately angry with Becky Lynch.
Further to this, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is quoted as stating that ”…Rousey’s terminology on the microphone is widely known in WWE to be confusing and anticlimactic. Everyone we’ve spoken to within the company believes that Rousey’s frustration is real.”
Given that the storyline in play seems to be that Rousey and Lynch are in agreement in wanting the match, having the two women united in their promotional efforts has been a major boon. Lynch’s work on social media since SummerSlam has been exemplary. It would be a shame to lose that so close to Wrestlemania.
For me, by far the most entertaining part of this feud is knowing that while Lynch is portrayed as the disloyal rebel aiming her swipes at the system in WWE, she’s actually the one toeing the company line here.If anything, this whole Twitter exchange, and the supposed issues arising from it, have only added to one of the most must see matches in WWE history.
Bray Wyatt Return
As enigmatic as Bray Wyatt is, he apparently reads a lot about himself. In response to an article by Sean Reuter for Cageside Seats, Wyatt openly stated that he will be back soon. As a result, Reuter would owe him a beer.
I can only speak personally here, but I will gladly buy Bray Wyatt a beer upon his return. It’s been far far too long.
This week in pro wrestling may have been a little slower than the last but no week or pro wrestling is ever truly quiet. If there’s a rumor worth adding to next week’s Wrestling Rumor Reactions, let us know in the comments below or on Twitter via @Colohue.