Hell in a Cell 2022, headlined by Cody Rhodes, is likely WWE's last version of that event.
The elimination of a storied pay-per-view, the latest on The Elite's status with All Elite Wrestling, and the returns of both Nikki Cross and Charlotte Flair are at the forefront of this collection of rumors.
What is the future of Hell in a Cell, when might fans expect to see The Queen back on WWE television and why the sudden focus on Cross as a part of the women's title picture?
Dive deeper into each topic with this roundup of insider reports.
The show has long been criticized for existing solely as a gimmick-heavy premium live event rather than providing suitable conclusions to long-running feuds that it did previously.
Triple H, the new head of WWE creative, has competed in several HIAC contests over the course of his career, including an extraordinary 2005 showdown with Batista. He was a major part of establishing the match type as one of the company's premier contests and will now likely work toward bringing a certain level of prestige to it.
That begins with the elimination of the event from the WWE schedule and a more cerebral approach to its inclusion on PPV cards moving forward.
The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels kicked off the legacy of Hell in a Cell, a match that has traditionally been the setting for the conclusion of feuds that have intensified to the point that battle inside the unforgiving steel structure is the only recourse.
Hopefully, Triple H and Co. will be able to restore the credibility of the match type, returning it to the level of feud ender that an entire generation remember it being.
For the first time since the backstage brawl at All Out that saw all three men suspended, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega are expected back in AEW imminently, per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, at least in their backstage roles as executive vice presidents.
"Fightful Select has learned that over the last couple of weeks, the most
movement out of the situation has happened since the incident took
place," he wrote. "We were told that a meeting was scheduled for last week, but
we're in the dark on the context of those. There hasn't been an indication on when they could return to AEW TV."
AEW TV gave credence to that report when it aired a video package teasing the return of the trio, with no context or explanation for what fans saw.
There are some who will suggest the show has greatly missed the trio, but it hasn't. Omega and the Bucks carry a certain level of star power, but to somehow suggest the show has been better or worse without them would be an over-exaggeration.
If anything, breaking up the monotony and overexposure of Chris Jericho, his admiration society and Blackpool Combat Club will be appreciated. Beside that, though, the return of The Elite would simply provide a spark to a show that has lacked one for months now.
Nikki Cross exploded back onto the scene Monday on Raw, attacking Bayley at the conclusion of her main event against Bianca Belair and reestablishing herself as a force in the WWE women's division.
Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that the angle was devised to rid the Scot of her "Almost a Super Hero" gimmick and set her up as a top contender to the Raw Women's Championship.
The goal? Almost certainly to insert her into a prospective Belair vs. Bayley match so that WWE can move the title onto the latter without having to beat the former.
If that is the case, it does not bode well for Cross or her prospects for a sustained push, but it at least breaks her out of the monotony of what she was (or wasn't) doing before as Nikki A.S.H. and places her into the title picture for the first time in over a year.
Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats reported that Charlotte Flair's return is "expected much sooner rather than later."
The Queen has been away from WWE TV since WrestleMania Backlash in May, when she lost the SmackDown women's title to Ronda Rousey in one of the night's marquee matches.
With AJ Styles and The O.C. promising to bring in a female member to handle Rhea Ripley in the coming weeks, might Flair be the option? If not, and she returns to SmackDown, what is there for her to do besides reignite a feud with Rousey that wasn't the most enthusiastically accepted program on WWE the first time around?
The Queen is a top-tier performer and someone the company has taken steps to protect over the years. Triple H and Co. will not bring her back to our screens without having something in mind for her.
Expect something meaningful as Flair reemerges as a force later in 2022.
