WWE’s early hopes for live fans were never feasible

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 jump right to it.

July 10, 2020

• WrestleVotes says that WWE is now eyeing the end of September for the return of live audiences.
• There are still no live fans. This was pre-ThunderDome where they figured out a way to present the product in a way that felt bigger without bringing fans in. Any thought in July that they could have any legit fans in September seemed misguided, unless they went the AEW route with small pockets of fans. (0/1)
• Sources told PW Unlimited that WWE is considering either a second night of SummerSlam or Evolution 2 on Aug. 30. In response to this, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp tweeted that he’s heard of an Aug. 30 show being planned, but isn’t aware of details beyond that.
• The Aug. 30 show happened, but it was another pay-per-view, Payback, where Roman Reigns won the title. (1/2)
• On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that WWE gave FTR legal letters preventing them from using the name “Shatter Machine.” The move is now called “Goodnight Express” in AEW.
• That was the name in AEW, but I believe they’ve changed it to “The Big Rig” in honor of Brodie Lee. (1/1)
• Per Meltzer, Riddick Moss is one of the WWE superstars who has voluntarily chosen to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.
• We haven’t seen good ol’ Riddick in awhile, though it’s not like we saw him a ton prior.
• PW Insider mentioned that the FTW title was never owned by ECW, which is why WWE has no claim on it. Taz holds the copyright and is free to use it as he wishes.
• It’s a useless prop for Brian Cage that still doesn’t make any sense, even with Taz’s explanation.

July 11, 2020

• The Wrestling Observer Newsletter says the current plan is to tape the Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins “Eye for an Eye” match and they will apparently “use some form of CGI effects to simulate an eye being pulled out as the finish.”
• It wasn’t CGI but instead a fake eye being held over the socket. I believe it was taped prior though. (1/2)
• It’s also said the original eye infection storyline was to write him out of the company but negotiations for a new deal with WWE are ongoing.
• This entire story was something else.
• Per the Observer, the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT crews are being kept separate during tapings after the recent COVID-19 outbreak in WWE.
• That would make sense. They still dealt with COVID afterwards of course.
• For whatever it’s worth, the WON says Rob Gronkowski “didn’t make a lot of friends in his brief WWE run.”
• That’s the impression.
• Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT says Drew McIntyre told him WWE is filming a documentary on him surrounding his title win at WrestleMania 36.
• That’s accurate. It was pretty good. (1/1)

July 13, 2020

• The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that most of the feuds we are seeing on television right now are expected to extend through SummerSlam.
• The women’s feud (Kabuki Warrior vs. Golden Role Models), Fiend/Strowman, and Seth Rollins/Mysterios all extended to SummerSlam. Not all the feuds did (like the Dolph Ziggler/Drew McIntyre match at Extreme Rules) but enough for me to give this a nod. (1/1)
• Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre could end up being one of the top title matches on that show.
• That’s accurate. (1/1)
• EVIL aligned with The Bullet Club to establish a top heel while the New Japan roster outside of the country is gone due to the pandemic, says Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.
• That makes sense. He won both titles at one point, but I don’t know if he really maintained a top heel spot. I personally don’t follow New Japan, but he wasn’t in any of the main events of Wrestle Kingdom main events.
• Meltzer also said that Kenny Omega’s booking in AEW is largely because he was always set to be built as a big star in his second year.
• He won the title by the end of the year.
• Per WWE Network News, WWE is going to add content to the Undertaker: The Last Ride section on July 19, though it’s unclear what exactly it will be.
• There’s a “Last Ride: Tales from the Deadman” that’s been added. (1/1)

July 14, 2020

• WWE’s original plans for SummerSlam have been “torn up,” according to WrestleVotes.
• I wonder if this is when they learned that Roman was ready to come back.
• Edge’s injury played a big part in the decision to re-work the SummerSlam card. The account says that without fans, Brock Lesnar probably won’t work the show.
• We have seen Brock since WrestleMania. (1/1)
• Randy Orton’s third match with Edge will now likely happen at next year’s Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. WrestlingNews.co says they’re considering having Orton enter that match as WWE champion.
• It doesn’t look like it’s happening at the Royal Rumble but WrestleMania is still possible. We’ll find out if Randy is the champ for their next match.
• That pitch includes McIntyre winning the belt back once fans are back in arenas, so he can have the moment he didn’t get at WrestleMania 36.
• He lost it to Randy but won it back immediately. But maybe he’ll get another victory in a year when fans can celebrate with him.
• Bruce Prichard’s Something to Wrestle With co-host Conrad Thompson told Wrestling Inc Prichard is “tired” and “stressing” running both Raw and SmackDown since Paul Heyman’s firing. Thompson speculated dealing with Fox, USA, and pandemic-caused re-writes were the biggest headaches.
• I can imagine. There was rumor that Shane McMahon may take his spot on Raw but nothing more came of that rumor.

July 15, 2020

• On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said the timetable for Charlotte Flair’s return to WWE television is up in the air. Even though WWE hopes she’ll be back for SummerSlam, the nature of her surgery combined with a TV project might turn that into an impossible goal.
• She was not back for SummerSlam.
• Following up on that, Ryan Satin tweeted that Flair’s television project is not a reality show; he’s heard that it is “a scripted show with a big network”.
• Charlotte (and Alexa Bliss) are part of a reboot of Punky Brewster. It is a scripted show and it’ll be on Peacock, which isn’t the same as being on NBC but it is their streaming service. (1/1)
• Meltzer also noted that WWE’s policy about fines for not wearing masks was revealed on the internet before talent was informed.
• I wonder how much.
• According to Fightful, the Jeff Hardy urine-throwing segment from the June 12 episode of SmackDown was produced by D-Von Dudley, and one of the writers was Zach Hyatt.
• I wouldn’t be hard on those two guys because I think we all knew who’s brain child it was.
• Earlier this week, PW Insider was told that Tammy Lynn Sytch was arrested and charged with violating a domestic violence restraining order, operating a motor vehicle during a license suspension, and eluding a police officer.
• It’s sad to see what’s happened to her.

July 16, 2020

• An alleged WWE Facebook ad shared by Twitter account WrestleNews365 shows the stipulation for Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre at Extreme Rules will be a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match.
• It was a hardcore match… for Dolph Ziggler only. (0/1)
• WWE is still planning to hold WrestleMania 37 in California next year according to WrestleVotes, but still need the go ahead from government officials on whether or not they’ll be able to. They want that decision by December.
• That’s not going to happen. That will happen in 2023 apparently as last night, WWE dropped the next three WrestleMania locales last night and this year is set for Raymond James Stadium again. (0/1)
• On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer mentioned that Bianca Belair was on Raw as a replacement for Liv Morgan in Ruby Riott’s match with IIconics.
• The took awhile to get going with Belair.
• In an interview with The Hannibal TV, Raven said he heard “from the grapevine” that Billy Corgan won’t re-start NWA. Raven has a relationship with Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins’ singer’s old promotion, Resistance Pro.
• NWA is still going. (0/1)
• A Tokyo Sports article indicated Kairi Sane will be returning to Japan, with an announcement expected around SummerSlam.
• That’s true. (1/1)

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This week: 10/16 – 63%

Overall: 3,619/6,437 – 56.2%

Have a good week, everyone. Stay safe out there.

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