2022 has been one of the most eventful years in pro wrestling history, and it’s quickly coming to a close. That means publications like Bleacher Report will...
WWE Rumors on Cody Rhodes as Champion, Max Dupri Gimmick Change and 2023 Royal Rumble
Oct 4, 2022
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Cody Rhodes Wasn't in WWE Title Plans
Despite being positioned as the top babyface following his return to the company at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes wasn't in line to win one of WWE's top titles when Vince McMahon was running the creative team.
Per Fightful Select (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of RingsideNews.com), McMahon "had not solidified plans" to make Rhodes either WWE or Universal champion before he suffered a torn pectoral muscle.
Rhodes came back to WWE after six years at WrestleMania 38. He had a feud with Seth Rollins that resulted in three matches between the two, culminating with a memorable Hell in a Cell battle.
The American Nightmare beat Rollins in each bout. He won the Cell match despite having a massive bruise on his right pec and arm where the injury occurred.
It's unclear if McMahon may have been willing to change his plans based on the reaction to Rhodes' performance at Hell in a Cell and how big his return from the injury figures to be, whenever it happens.
But Rhodes winning either or both titles would require him to beat Roman Reigns, which is something WWE doesn't seem to have any interest in doing right now. It could have been argued the Tribal Chief should have lost to Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle based on the crowd reaction, but that's not the direction they went.
With Triple H now in charge of creative, it's possible Rhodes could be in line to at least get a title shot against Reigns. There has been speculation for months that he could return at the Royal Rumble.
Any plans for the Rumble and WrestleMania involving Reigns will likely depend on the availability of The Rock. WWE is certainly hoping to bring The Great One in to work a match with Reigns at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles.
Assuming the Reigns-Rock match does take place, it shouldn't be too much longer after that bout that someone beats Reigns to win the undisputed championship. He's been champion for more than two years. It's been a fantastic run, but you have to build up a challenger to beat him at some point.
Since McIntyre wasn't the one to do it at the show in Wales, Rhodes seems like the next logical candidate to beat Reigns at some point next year.
Another WWE Main Roster Name Change
As Triple H continues to put his stamp on the creative team and undo some of the strange decisions McMahon made when bringing up talent to the main roster from NXT, Max Dupri is going back to his original gimmick.
Per Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, WWE's internal company roster has him listed as L.A. Knight after he split from Maximum Male Models on Friday Night SmackDown.
McMahon was on a kick where he felt compelled to either change or tweak the names of superstars for no real reason. Among the decisions he made was to drop the first name for Tommaso Ciampa, Austin Theory and Matt Riddle. Pete Dunne randomly became Butch.
Ciampa, Theory and Riddle have gotten their first names back on television in recent months. WWE hasn't changed Butch's name back, but he's incorporating elements of the Pete Dunne gimmick into his character recently.
Knight was one of the best characters on NXT when he debuted in February 2021. He got called up to the main roster earlier this year, but he was mostly relegated to comedy skits as the CEO of Maximum Male Models.
Shifting back to the Knight gimmick that worked so well in NXT should help him as he looks to establish himself on the main roster.
Royal Rumble Ticket Sales
Early returns on ticket sales for the 2023 Royal Rumble appear to be good news for WWE.
Per Fightful Select (h/t Fernando Quiles Jr. of Wrestling, Inc.), the show is on pace to break the Royal Rumble record for ticket sales and gross revenue currently held by the 2017 event.
Both shows are being held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. WWE claimed an attendance of 52,020 fans at the 2017 show.
Tickets for the 2023 event were made available over the weekend and have already topped 25,000 sold. Fightful Select noted the entire arena hasn't been opened up for the show at this point, but that could change in the coming months.
WWE has had tremendous success with stadium shows for its biggest premium live events. This year has seen more than 40,000 fans in attendance for the Royal Rumble (44,390), WrestleMania Night 1 (65,719) and Night 2 (65,653) and SummerSlam (40,117).
Given how important the Royal Rumble is to setting up where things will be leading in to WrestleMania, it's not a surprise to see WWE having success with ticket sales for the Jan. 28 show.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
Seth Rollins Says It Was 'Demoralizing' Being Used to 'Catapult' Cody Rhodes in WWE
Sep 30, 2022
COLOGNE, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 07: Seth Rollins during the WWE Live Show at Lanxess Arena on November 7, 2018 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Marc Pfitzenreuter/Getty Images)
Seth Rollins revealed Friday that he had some frustration leading up to WrestleMania 38 over the idea of having to put over Cody Rhodes rather than receiving a big push in his own right.
During an interview with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport (beginning at the 11:10 mark), Rollins discussed his mindset when he learned he would be losing the match to Rhodes:
Rollins said it was "demoralizing" to think that he would have to "catapult" someone else into a spot he wanted after doing it many times previously in his career but noted that his outlook eventually changed.
The Visionary explained that it ultimately put a chip on his shoulder and made him want to steal the show with Rhodes at WrestleMania. Ultimately, Rollins and Rhodes were strong contenders for the top match of the event.
Rollins went on to lose matches to Rhodes at Backlash and Hell in a Cell as well, and it is the Hell in a Cell match that will be most remembered by fans since Rhodes wrestled with a torn pectoral muscle.
While some may argue that losing three times in a row to Rhodes was bad for Rollins' image, he believes it earned him more respect since he had the "humility" to help Rhodes reach the next level.
Rollins didn't feel as though the program damaged his equity at all and expressed his belief that he came out of it in a better place than he was in before the feud started.
Earlier in the interview, Rollins said he has always felt he played "second fiddle" to Roman Reigns in WWE, including when he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 and won the WWE Championship.
Rollins' initial negative feelings toward putting over Rhodes may have had something to do with that perception, but Seth's comments suggest that he was able to get over it and recognize the greater good.
Rhodes seems likely to vie for the world title when he returns from injury, but given how great Rollins has been as a heel and how consistently he delivers great segments and matches, he figures to be in the main event mix soon enough as well.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - NOVEMBER 14 : Drew McIntyre poses during the 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards - Red Carpet Arrivals at the Papp Laszlo Budapest Sports Arena, on November 14, 2021 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Sven Hoogerhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.
Drew McIntyre Dealing With Food Poisoning
Bad news: WWE pulled Drew McIntyre off the house show circuit over the weekend as he dealt with food poisoning.
Good news: It appears McIntyre will be fine sooner than later.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said McIntyre is currently planned to resume his full schedule this week.
"He’s better in the sense—I don’t wanna say all the way better—but, he’s hopeful that he’ll be good enough to go to the gym tomorrow," Meltzer said. "He was able to eat food today, which I think is the first day he could. Unless there’s a relapse or something, he’s got mid-week media in San Antonio for the Royal Rumble. The thought is that he’ll be there and on TV and house show starting Friday. He’s a trooper for going to SmackDown on Friday. He was scripted into a big angle. It’s a real big deal for Karrion Kross, this thing. It’s not ‘make or break,’ but it’s the angle leading up to it and everything like this."
McIntyre gutted through his food poisoning to appear on Friday's SmackDown, and it'd be fair to wonder if he regrets that decision. While he deserves credit for even making it to television, the segment between McIntyre, Karrion Kross and Scarlett went over like a lead balloon.
Scarlett's botched fireball spot garnered widespread mockery on social media over the weekend, and things may have gone better if they took the week McIntyre needed to recover to test the spot.
Cody Rhodes Has 'No Complaints' About WWE Treatment
Say what you will about the way they treated him during his first run, but Cody Rhodes has gotten the superstar treatment since his return to WWE.
From his WrestleMania re-debut to sweeping Seth Rollins in their feud, Rhodes was built up as the top babyface in the company before suffering a torn pec that's kept him out of action for several months.
"No complaints. They've treated me like the house that built me, which they were. ... We were back, and everything was rolling so fast, and then I tore my pec. It was the best three months of my life. Hopefully get back to that soon," Rhodes told TMZ Sports.
There has been no set timetable for Rhodes' return, but it wasn't hard to read through the lines during his TMZ interview. The man wants to return at Royal Rumble. Without actually saying the name of the pay-per-view, he alluded to widespread fan speculation that he'll come back at Rumble to set up a WrestleMania main event.
Looking at the current state of the WWE roster, it's hard to see any alternative plan. Roman Reigns has rampaged through the rest of the roster on both Raw and Smackdown, to the point he's defending against Logan Paul at Crown Jewel.
WWE may want The Rock to take on Reigns at WrestleMania, but The Great One doesn't have another championship run in him. Putting Rhodes over on the biggest stage would elevate him to face-of-the-company status.
There may be a mechanism to get Reigns vs. Rock without the championship on the line and have Cody beat another opponent for the title(s) at WrestleMania (Rollins?), but it'd be less satisfying from a storyline perspective.
Profits Want Tag Team Titles Back
The Street Profits haven't done much lately besides fall short in big matches. While there seemed to be small seeds of a breakup being planted—Montez Ford's frustration after losses to The Usos looked like foreshadowing—they've largely settled into the midcard as of late.
Even as the brakes seem pumped on any major push, Angelo Dawkins says he wants the Profits to be the team that takes down Jimmy and Jey.
"Our main goal is to be the ones to beat The Bloodline," Dawkins told Ethan Absler of USA Insider. "The Bloodline is the only team we haven’t really beat. We’ve beaten everybody else, but they’re the only team that has always had our number no matter what. We just gotta find a way to beat these dudes and get our titles back."
WWE needs to do something with the Profits besides use them as a reliable team that puts over other talent. Fans were clamoring for a Ford solo run before their push cooled, and now it feels like they're running in place—especially since it seems unlikely that the Profits are the team that gets over the hump.
The booking seems to be pointing toward a Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens tag team run, which would be the better long- and short-term story.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
Today's pro wrestling landscape is rife with second- and third-generation stars, all looking to improve upon the foundation laid by their grandparents and...
WWE Rumors: There's 'a Lot of Plans' for Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39 amid Injury
Aug 14, 2022
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 20: Cody Rhodes, winner of WWE Moment of the Year, attends the 2022 ESPYs at Dolby Theatre on July 20, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Cody Rhodes reportedly may be a huge factor in WrestleMania 39 next year at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Speaking Friday on the Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast, F4WOnline's Andrew Zarian said there are "a lot of plans" for Rhodes at WrestleMania (beginning at the 8:40 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SaTXus7W7g
Zarian's comment came after it was pointed out that Rhodes is featured prominently on tickets and promotional material for WrestleMania.
Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in April as the surprise opponent for Seth Rollins. He had been gone from WWE since 2016 and played a significant role in the formation of rival company AEW during that time.
Upon returning to WWE, Rhodes made it clear that he had his sights set on becoming world champion.
Cody had to take a detour on his road to the world title, however, as he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in June. WWE later announced that it would keep him out of action for nine months.
Rhodes remarkably wrestled through the injury at Hell in a Cell, defeating Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match in what was one of the gutsiest performances in WWE history.
If Rhodes does indeed miss nine months, it would allow him to return on the road to WrestleMania and perhaps have a match at WrestleMania 39.
Most observers seem to believe Cody will be back earlier than nine months with the Royal Rumble in January being the most logical target date for his return.
Having The American Nightmare win the Rumble as a surprise entrant would make for another memorable moment in his second WWE run, and it would set the stage for him to have a world title match at WrestleMania.
It is unclear who will be world champion at WrestleMania or if the WWE and Universal Championships will be split back up by then, but Cody as the challenger is a fantastic story that WWE would be wise to tell.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
Vince's Reaction to UFC's Adesanya; Lashley Praises Theory; Cody Talks WWE Return
Jul 6, 2022
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 02: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria prepares to enter the octagon for his middleweight title bout against Jared Cannonier during UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena on July 02, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Vince Had Positive Reaction to Adesanya's UFC 276 Entrance
SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee said Tuesday that WWE executive Vince McMahon reacted positively to Israel Adesanya's Undertaker-inspired entrance at UFC 276 last weekend.
Speaking on the Pat McAfee Show (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of ThirstyForNews.com), McAfee said the following about the entrance, which he witnessed live alongside Vince, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in Las Vegas:
"I'm sitting there and the obvious question is, 'Did you guys know this was coming? Did we just so happen to be here when one of these things happened?' I don't think they knew that was coming. I'm not saying they were upset about it, though, I think they loved that it was happening.
"At one point I actually looked at Vince and was like, 'Hey, you should think about f--king doing this, seems like a pretty cool thing.' Got a big pop out of him. I guess [Adesanya] is a big WWE fan, we were honored to be over there and got a chance to sit directly behind his corner."
Adesanya had the internet buzzing after making his way to the Octagon with the accompaniment of WWE legend and Hall of Famer The Undertaker's entrance.
The UFC star also wore an Undertaker-style hat and carried an urn with the name of his opponent, Jared Cannonier, engraved into it.
Adesanya backed up the grandiose entrance with a unanimous-decision victory to retain the UFC middleweight title and improve his pro record to 23-1.
Later, in an interview with BT Sport (h/t WrestlingInc's Ross Berman), Adesanya was asked about potentially making the leap to pro wrestling one day, and he revealed that he is a longtime WWE fan who "definitely" plans to wrestle for WWE one day.
Adesanya apparently already has a fan in McMahon, which bodes well for his chances of transitioning to the sports entertainment giant in the future.
Lashley Views Theory as Future Top Star
United States champion Bobby Lashley and Mr. Money in the Bank Theory are in the midst of an on-screen rivalry, but in reality, Lashley sees greatness in Theory.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport (h/t Nitish Vashishtha of Ringside News), Lashley praised Theory and his potential to be the face of WWE:
"Man, by the time he's my age, he's going to be on a stack of money as high as this building. He's gonna be a super-duper star. [Twenty-four] years old, that kid has everything in his future. I can see him being a multiple-time world champion. He's gonna be going after [John] Cena's record, he's gonna be after Ric Flair's record. He's going to be setting some records that you would never, never imagine. The kid is extremely talented."
Lashley alluded to the fact that both Cena and Flair are 16-time world champions, which is a lofty goal for Theory to potentially accomplish.
While he hasn't been world champion yet, Theory was the youngest United States champion in WWE history before dropping the title to Lashley at Money in the Bank.
It was still a great night for Theory overall, though, as he won the men's Money in the Bank ladder match after being a late addition to the match, meaning he can now cash in a title opportunity whenever he desires.
Theory is also continuing his feud with Lashley, as it was announced on Monday's episode of Raw that he will receive a rematch for the U.S. title at SummerSlam later this month.
Regardless of whether Theory wins, he is in an ideal spot, as he can cash in the Money in the Bank contract for a world title match at a time and place of his choosing for the next year.
WWE clearly views Theory as a top star in the making, and Lashley has gotten a firsthand look at just how good he can be.
Rhodes Explains Why He Returned to WWE
In a discussion with fellow WWE Superstar Montez Ford of The Street Profits, Cody Rhodes shed additional light on why he decided to leave AEW and return to WWE this year after six years away.
On the latest episode of WWE's Grit and Glory, Rhodes noted that he would give Ford a "somewhat arrogant answer" but added that he didn't mean for it to sound arrogant:
All roads lead to @CodyRhodes 💪 @MontezFordWWE takes a ride with the American Nightmare and discusses his WWE return, in this all new episode of Grit and Glory presented by @ChevyTrucks Silverado.
"For two, three years nobody’s been able to touch me in the ring, and the only way you can say that without having a little bit of doubt is having that chip. Having extra motivation for the biggest prize in our world, which would be the WWE Championship."
Rhodes said that his goal in calling himself the best is for everyone else to view themselves as the best as well, and Ford suggested that it "makes everybody greater."
Since making his return to WWE as Seth Rollins' surprise opponent at WrestleMania 38 in April, Rhodes has established himself as a massive fan favorite and perhaps the hottest babyface in WWE.
The only thing that has slowed Rhodes down is a torn pectoral muscle, which he worked through in beating Rollins in a classic match at Hell in a Cell.
WWE subsequently announced that Rhodes will miss nine months, but Cody has been insistent in wanting to be back sooner, and many fans expect him back as an entrant in the Royal Rumble match before ultimately winning it.
Given how well things have gone for Rhodes since returning to WWE, it is difficult to say he made anything other than a fantastic decision.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).
Kenny Omega Confirms WWE's Cody Rhodes Will Be in 'AEW: Fight Forever' Video Game
Jun 26, 2022
CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: Cody Rhodes is introduced during AEW Dynamite on January 26, 2022, at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Cody Rhodes may have left AEW, but his legacy will live on in the company's upcoming video game.
Kenny Omega confirmed Rhodes will still be a playable character in AEW Fight Forever, which is set for release later this year.
“This may come as a surprise to people, but Cody is still in the game,” Omega told Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. “I was very passionate about making sure his legacy and position within the company were preserved.
“We’ve built this game from the ground up, starting everything from scratch. That’s why I thought this game could coincide with the birth of this company. You get to experience AEW from the beginning, from day one. The game is going to reflect a lot of that, even though our locker room is ever-changing.”
AEW's first console video game has been in the works since 2020, and it makes sense from a logical perspective that Rhodes would be in the game. It's likely his rights for the game were already negotiated before he even began thinking about leaving for WWE.
That said, it may be a little odd seeing one of WWE's top babyfaces in an AEW game nearly a year after his departure—especially considering Rhodes is not in WWE 2K22.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
Injuries, departures and scattered schedules have left WWE with a major roster depth issue heading into the summer season. This is typically the time of year...
