Wrestling Rumor Reactions – Could Becky Lynch be a double champion?
By Tom Colohue
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.
Ronda Rousey vs Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair: Winner Takes All
We start with a little something from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, where reports are that the main event of this year’s WrestleMania will be a Winner Take All triple threat. That is, unless you’re Becky Lynch of course.
Anyone who defeats Ronda Rousey will become Raw Women’s Champion. Anyone who defeats Charlotte Flair will become Smackdown Women’s Champion. There will be no incentive to defeat Becky Lynch.
Where this goes is hard to say, especially considering how insane and convoluted a match this has become. This could be a play to add extra stakes to the match. It could be a move to unify the two belts or it could be a move to control who goes where after the upcoming Superstar Shakeup.
Time will tell, but this match is starting to be a little bit too busy for me.
Jimmy Uso fined for “interfering with a government employee”
It’s been a crazy couple of months for Jimmy Uso. One of the reigning SmackDown Live tag team champions, he was recently arrested for alleged disorderly conduct. Now, in a significant update from TMZ.com, the issue seems to have been resolved in about as positive a manner as could be expected.
TMZ are reporting that a deal was brokered that required Jimmy to plead no contest to “interfering with a government employee.” The end result of this agreement was a $450 fine.
Regardless of what happens next, WWE have already shown huge faith in The Usos, giving them another tag title reign. This will be the third WrestleMania in a row that The Usos will go in as SmackDown tag team champions but unfortunately it also looks like the second of the three in which they will not have a match.
Kenny Omega chose AEW over WWE because of full creative control
One thing that WWE does differently from a lot of other wrestling companies is that they do not offer full creative control to any of their talents. Sure, The New Day may have infamously been a pleasant surprise and the creative team have definitely steered into the curve with Becky Lynch, but one of WCW’s most damaging contractual choices has not been repeated by the WWE.
This apparently played a factor in Kenny Omega’s decision to sign with All Elite Wrestling instead. AEW, like New Japan before, could offer Omega that full control over his character.
In an interview with TSN, Kenny Omega said the following about his relationship with WWE and AEW:
"“But you know AEW of course, this new promotion that we’ve got going, er, that just seemed right for me and, er, I always get really excited at the idea of having full creative control and, er, just doing new things, man, you know what I mean like there’s, there’s sometimes a, there’s sometimes a job where you have to really conform to a certain system, or you have to perform to a certain standard or in a certain way or people want to manage you and then micromanage you and this is a situation where okay you’re going to be part of this multimillion dollar billion dollar company and we’re giving you the ball so just give us Kenny Omega and to me that’s exciting as a performer so I thought that was probably what was best for me as of right now.”"
This is consistent with other comments from Kenny Omega and from what we know of the landscape of WWE.
It also means a happy, productive Kenny Omega, which will make All Elite Wrestling fans very happy.
Becky Lynch offered a new contract
Becky Lynch has quickly become one of the biggest names in wrestling right now and, with a WrestleMania main event in her near future, WWE would be taking a big risk if they didn’t do everything in their power to keep Lynch. The Pro Wrestling Sheet are reporting that WWE have offered their fastest rising star a new contract.
There are many reports of the WWE, with All Elite Wrestling now a reality, working overtime to ensure that their stars are signed to long, ironclad contracts as quickly as possible. You don’t get much bigger than Becky Lynch given the run she’s been on since SummerSlam. A new contract right before the main event of WrestleMania? It’s a no-brainer for me.
What rumors in the wrestling world are catching your eye? Let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.