As the Road to WrestleMania approaches its final few stops, the WWE rumor mill has ramped up with reports and speculation regarding card length, top Superstars and controversial storylines.
From the number of matches that will make up what is sure to feel like an ungodly long card to the men and women who will be prominently featured, it feels like there are new reports every day of an ever-changing and evolving show.
One of the most recent additions to the card, Kurt Angle's retirement match against Baron Corbin, was at the center of great speculation this week. What are reports suggesting about the bout?
How many matches might the card actually top out at? What is going on with Johnny Gargano, who made his main roster debut alongside Ricochet and Aleister Black but has been conspicuous by his absence since Tommaso Ciampa's neck injury?
Find out the answer to those questions with this week's roundup of backstage rumors.
WrestleVotes reported WrestleMania 35 could feature upwards of 17 matches but there is a push behind the scenes to "control the match count."
This era of WWE has produced some of the longest pay-per-view extravaganzas of all time, thanks to bloated cards designed to give as many Superstars a spot on the show as possible.
The idea of a 17-match card, which would be the most in WrestleMania history, is almost too much to bear for fans who will already have watched a ton of wrestling that weekend between NXT and the indy shows in the New York/New Jersey area.
Thankfully, the report suggests management is aware of the expansive card and is doing its best to limit the match count. Perhaps that is the reasoning behind the return of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and a Superstar like Braun Strowman being included rather than in a higher-profile singles match.
Recent WrestleMania events have been a chore to sit through. Even the better incarnations of the show have been difficult to remain invested in.
Hopefully, this year's event will not suffer from the same issues. There is enough quality build behind the top bouts that fans should remain excited...even if it takes half a lifetime to get to them.
Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats reported Johnny Gargano is expected to remain in NXT for the time being.
Tommaso Ciampa's neck injury created a shuffle at the top of the brand, necessitating Gargano sticking around to provide star power for NXT.
That he is slated to battle Adam Cole in a Best 2-Out-of-3 Falls match at TakeOver: Brooklyn for the NXT Championship that has eluded him his entire stint with the company only lends credence to the idea that he will hang around with the brand, especially if he finally captures the gold.
This is probably for the best.
Yes, Gargano made his main roster debut over a month ago alongside Ciampa, Aleister Black and Ricochet but it is so stacked with talent that unless he was shoved into the tag team division with the rest of his NXT exports, he would likely have been lost in the shuffle at some point.
Johnny Wrestling is too good for that.
It would be better to let him stay in NXT, where he can continue earning the reputation of the best babyface in wrestling today, rather than jump to Raw and SmackDown and become just another guy.
Plus, after his emotional journey over the last two years, the character deserves the payoff of an NXT Championship run.
Ortman also reported Kurt Angle's retirement match against Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35 will likely not remain a singles match.
Insider Justin LaBar went a bit further and suggested we may not get Angle vs. Corbin at all.
The wrestling world was in an uproar Monday night when The Olympic Gold Medalist announced his final match in a WWE ring would come against The Lone Wolf. It was a lackluster payoff to a week's worth of anticipation and speculation as to whom the all-time great and 2017 Hall of Fame inductee would choose to wrestle his final match against.
Many wanted someone like John Cena or Undertaker, two iconic competitors against whom Angle has had many championship clashes.
Others hyped up a Superstar like Shelton Benjamin, a competitor the former Raw general manager introduced to the WWE Universe as part of Team Angle way back in 2003.
Instead, they were "treated" to the revelation that Corbin will be handed the opportunity to square off with the Olympian on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Despite the criticisms, the match makes sense.
Corbin beat down and humiliated Angle, making his life a living hell. Angle's desire to whoop up on him at WrestleMania is a logical storyline development and had it not been billed as the babyface's last match, it would probably be touted as strong writing from the oft-maligned creative team.
Secondly, Corbin is hardly a bad wrestler.
The NXT alumnus has spent three years working with the best professional wrestlers on the planet and has quietly developed into one of the better big men in the business. He is fast, agile and can work with Superstars of varying styles. He's adaptable, which is something he does not get enough credit for.
Throw in the fact he is a phenomenal heel, and you have a guy who certainly has not just lucked into the spot he finds himself in April 7.
The reports from Ortman and LaBar are interesting in that they suggest someone else could find themselves across the ring from Angle at WrestleMania.
With no other obvious suitor, do not be surprised if the Olympian is reintroduced to a little ruthless aggression, and some hustle, loyalty and respect, by a guy all-too-familiar with him.
