WWE Rumors: Chris Jericho Return, Brock Lesnar, UK Network Deals, NXT Call Up
The latest WWE rumors involve a returning pair of veteran, regular main roster wrestlers, an update on trouble over the rumored Shaquille O’Neal vs. The Big Show match, the WWE women’s tournament and more.
Two major names have been missing from the Raw roster lately for different reasons. Brock Lesnar hasn’t appeared live for a few weeks, though did appear in an interview segment with his advocate/manager Paul Heyman. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho missed this week’s episode to sell the colossal beatdown from his now-former best friend Kevin Owens on last week’s show, though has appeared at house shows this week in Germany. According to WWE rumors, the two legendary competitors are likely to return to television on next Monday’s Raw.
The pair both have WrestleMania 33 matches to build towards, with Brock Lesnar facing off against Goldberg after the latter decimated him at Survivor Series and eliminated him in the Royal Rumble, and Jericho almost nailed on to face Owens in a grudge match. Either WrestleMania contest could be for the WWE Universal Championship, as Owens is defending that title against Goldberg at WWE Fastlane next Sunday. It could be that either Jericho or Lesnar get involved in that match to help determine the future of the championship.
WWE rumors have recently indicated that the long-expected Shaq vs. Big Show WrestleMania 33 match might not be happening, at first due to what appears to be a heavily stacked card. Now it seems Shaq might be trying to back out of the match all parties seemingly agreed upon months ago. WWE and Big Show are not sure whether Shaq will actually take part in the match, according to Cageside Seats, and Big Show has been publicly calling him out as of late, in what appears to be an effort to cajole Shaq into participating after all.
Over the last month or so, WWE rumors have suggested that WWE is on the verge of announcing deals with several independent promotions from the United Kingdom to start featuring their programming on WWE Network. Among the companies said to be involved in the talks are Insane Championship Wrestling and Progress, both of whom had talent included in the WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament in January.
More recently, it seemed as though the deals might not take hold, with Vince McMahon apparently unsure about allowing other companies to have their shows featured on the network. However, there are still possible deals floating around, according to the Wrestling Observer, so those companies might have a formal WWE tie-up after all.
So, @TripleH has confirmed that a @WWE Women's tournament is in the works. Sounds to me like the perfect opportunity to sign these 4 women.. pic.twitter.com/l56sxW9p4A
— Dr. Eric Christopher (@TheDrEric) January 19, 2017
Speaking of the WWE Network, some of the most popular initiatives on the service in recent times have been the Cruiserweight Classic and the aforementioned UK Championship tournament, both of which led to new champions being crowned. WWE rumors have swirled for months, suggesting that the company might next hold a women’s tournament, and that might be firmly on the cards, with WWE staffers making calls to bring in talent for the event.
Lastly, in the latest WWE rumors digest, we have an NXT spoiler that could point to a call up for the main roster.
Please note: NXT taping spoilers lie ahead.
At the latest NXT tapings held this week, Chris Hero faced off against Elias Samson in a Loser Leaves NXT match. Hero won the bout, sending The Drifter packing from the WWE developmental brand.
That raised questions over the future of Samson, but it appears that he might be moving on up to the main roster. Last year, right after WrestleMania 32, a number of NXT wrestlers moved to Raw and SmackDown. WWE rumors suggest Samson might be in that graduating class this year.
Stay tuned to the Inquisitr for all the latest pro wrestling news and WWE rumors.
[Featured Image by WWE]
