Cody Rhodes

The outlook for WWE's men's main event scene just keeps getting worse.

Once Cody Rhodes went out of the picture with a torn pec, it was obvious WWE would shift things over to Randy Orton this summer when it came time to throw legitimate contenders at Roman Reigns for his title(s).

But now Orton isn't available either, with Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Dominic DeAngelo) reporting that Orton will miss more time than expected, producing a "fear" within the company that an operation could keep him out for the rest of the year.

That leaves little for Reigns to do given WWE's situation in the men's main event scene. The challenge from Riddle feels like a time-filler until SummerSlam, as the company's top champion isn't booked to appear at pretty much anything until then, including Money in the Bank.

Once that minor hurdle gets cleared, things likely transition to Drew McIntyre. Given that Seth Rollins is the best thing running in the company right now, and perhaps in the midst of his best run ever, there's a chance he pulls in the Money in the Bank briefcase and dips a little into the "Architect" persona to steal a title from Reigns over the summer.

But those are layup feuds with Rhodes and Orton gone, and there's a big question hanging over both of them—will WWE let Reigns lose a title anyway?

It was easy to think Rhodes' anointing as "top face" after coming over from All Elite Wrestling would let it happen. That's in limbo and jeopardized now. It was easy to think Orton, a legend, could do it too, especially given his chance for anniversary feuds and a historic 15th championship down the road soon.

The same can't be said for McIntyre and Rollins. Even worse, it surely can't happen for any other up-and-comer WWE might elect to throw at Reigns. This feels like an obvious time to throw a massive main event push behind someone like Montez Ford or Gunther in order to create more top stars.

We've endlessly seen WWE have these types of chances to finally build new stars in the past. McIntyre's flight to the top, dismantling of Brock Lesnar and carrying the company on his back through the pandemic was maybe the only time it really happened.

That's a proof of concept WWE might want to jump all over again with somebody like Ford. It's as simple as the right push, maybe including a briefcase, followed by a stipulation that he can only take one of the titles off Reigns.

But it all hinges on WWE's willingness to actually take a title off Reigns. The fact he's holding the main event titles on both weekly programs hostage and hardly appearing on either is unsatisfying and similar to what Lesnar did as a part-time champion. Yet WWE might not care, especially if it means he gets to defend both at next year's Mania against The Rock.

There's also that Lesnar or part-timer factor to throw in the mix here. WWE could let young guns rise. It could swerve into a fun Rollins feud. Or...it could back up a Brinks truck in Lesnar's direction and feed fans more of the same, very limited stuff until the other planned feuds return to health and/or we reach the next Mania.

If this all sounds discouraging, it sort of is. This hole WWE hopped in after a little bad injury luck was pre-dug via the lack of building top stars and shoe-horning both titles on to Reigns without a plan. The odds the company can climb back out and exceed expectations aren't looking so hot despite the wealth of talent on the roster and the droves of ideas fans could throw out.

A couple byproducts of this roadblock that probably won't get a ton of attention in the moment but will in the long-term? The impact on this Reigns run and his legacy, never mind the reputation of the top titles in WWE.

What does it say about Reigns' already-fading, career-defining run at the top if he's hardly defending and the company poorly booked replacement stories now that his top two challengers are out? WWE wants this run to establish him as the GOAT, but it's not trending the right away.

And what does it say about the company's top titles if, after two departures, no Superstars really try to fill the void and compete for them? Is the Superstar who takes one of the titles off Reigns, and by extension the brand's main-event scene it belongs to, really going to receive a boost at this point?

These are brutal questions with no easy answers. WWE has pulled some amazing things out of back-against-wall scenarios in the past, but also some head-scratching things, too.

Unfortunately, the injuries make it seem like WWE will use this as an opportunity to remain in a holding pattern, dishing fans more of the same until one of these two big names gets right or Mania arrives, if not both.

Maybe WWE itself won't sink, but the men's main event scene could continue to feel barren while both titles sit on one guy and don't always even make appearances on the weekly programs.

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Rhodes Reportedly Expected Back Before Nine-Month Timetable

Cody Rhodes is reportedly expected to be back from his surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle more quickly than the timeline WWE announced.

Last week, WWE announced that Rhodes would be out for nine months after undergoing surgery, putting him on track for an early March 2023 return.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Michael Perry of Ringside News), Rhodes and most around him believe he will be back before then.

Meltzer noted that bringing Rhodes back for the Royal Rumble in late January would be an ideal scenario for WWE since Cody is perhaps the odds-on favorite to win it.

It was also reported by Meltzer that WWE is considering giving Rhodes the "Triple H 2001-2002 treatment," meaning they would hype up Cody's return and give him a huge victory out of the gates.

After missing several months with a torn quad, Triple H returned in January 2002 and went on to win the Royal Rumble before beating Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania X8.

A similar situation for Rhodes would make sense given how much support he has garnered as a top babyface.

Despite tearing his pec off the bone, Rhodes faced Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view a couple of weeks ago, battling through severe bruising.

The American Nightmare won the match and was then written off television the next night on Raw due to an attack at the hands of Rollins.

Rhodes figures to get a massive pop when he returns, especially if it is to announce his entry into the Rumble match or as a surprise entrant in the match itself.

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WWE Reportedly Has Reigns Backup Plan if Orton Misses SummerSlam

Roman Reigns is reportedly slated to defend the undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Randy Orton at SummerSlam, but if Orton is unable to compete due to injury, WWE reportedly has another plan in place.

According to Meltzer (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), there is a backup plan, although it doesn't include Riddle, who is Orton's tag team partner.

Meltzer did not specify who the backup plan involves, but he opined that Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and Gunther are among those who could fit as a challenger to Reigns.

While Meltzer was the first to report on the planned Reigns vs. Orton SummerSlam match, Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Dominic DeAngelo) reported Thursday that there is concern within WWE regarding Orton missing significant time due to a back injury.

Per Fightful, there is "fear" that Orton may need surgery, which would force him to miss the remainder of 2022.

Orton was written off TV last month when he and Riddle dropped the Raw Tag Team Championships to The Usos in a unification match on SmackDown. After the match, The Usos and Reigns brutally attacked RK-Bro.

Riddle was back on television quickly and cut a promo about Orton suffering a back injury and possibly missing an extended period of time, which led to speculation that the beatdown angle was done to set the stage for Reigns vs. Orton down the line.

During Orton's absence, Riddle has continued his feud with The Bloodline, and he is set to challenge Reigns for the title on Friday's episode of SmackDown, representing Reigns' first title defense since unifying the WWE and Universal Championships in a win over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38.

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Wyatt Addresses Rumor of Childhood Photo with Sting

Former WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt took to Instagram on Thursday to shoot down a longstanding rumor regarding a childhood photo with legendary wrestler Sting.

Wyatt posted the photo, which fans have long assumed was of him and his brother, former WWE Superstar Bo Dallas, alongside Sting. Wyatt made it clear that he and Dallas weren't the children in the photo, however, writing:

"I never thought I would actually do this…. But I have seen this picture seemingly every time I check my social media for years now. I've seen it on wrestling news sites, I have even signed this picture for fans. One of my good friends sent me this TODAY, and he was far from the first to make the mistake. The truth is I have no idea who the hell these kids are, but I know for sure they are not me or Taylor. It's always been kind of a hilarious little joke to me but today my curiosity has gotten the best of me. So what say you, bowl cut brothers….. are you out there?? Is this a funny little joke to you too? I think it's high time you step up and take credit for this cool ass picture of you and prime Stinger."

The timeline could have worked out since Wyatt's father, Mike Rotunda, was in WCW at the same time as Sting under the name V.K. Wallstreet, following his run in WWE as Irwin R. Schyster.

Despite that, Wyatt has made it quite clear that it wasn't him or his brother, creating a true pro wrestling mystery.

Wyatt has now been a free agent for over a year since shockingly getting released by WWE in spite of his status as a top star and three-time world champion.

Meanwhile, Sting is still wrestling at the age of 63, often teaming with Darby Allin in AEW.

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McMahon Reportedly Views Rhodes as a Top WWE Star

WWE chairman Vince McMahon reportedly views Cody Rhodes as a potential face of the company moving forward.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan), it was McMahon who made the call for Rhodes to defeat Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell despite the fact that Rhodes was dealing with a torn pectoral muscle.

Meltzer noted that a wrestler typically loses before undergoing surgery and taking significant time off to recover, but the fact that Rhodes won speaks to how he is viewed by WWE higher-ups.

Lending further credence to Rhodes' standing is the fact that the WWE and WWE Network Twitter accounts have made a photo of Rhodes performing at Hell in a Cell their header photos for over a week, per Mohan.

Rhodes has not lost a match since returning to WWE in April following a stint as one of the founders of AEW. That includes pay-per-view wins over Rollins at WrestleMania 38, WrestleMania Backlash and Hell in a Cell.

After undergoing surgery to repair his torn pec, WWE announced that Rhodes is expected to miss nine months. While that may be true, most fans seem to believe that Cody will be back in time for the Royal Rumble in January and win it to earn a title match at WrestleMania 39.

WWE has gone to great lengths to present Rhodes as a top star and make him look strong, so there is every reason to believe he is destined to become world champion.

Winning the Rumble and winning the title at WrestleMania would create the biggest possible moments, and based on how he has been handled thus far, those seem to be likely scenarios.

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Updates on Reigns' Reported WWE Raw Schedule

Despite having unified the WWE and Universal Championships, Roman Reigns reportedly isn't slated to have much of a presence on Raw throughout the summer.

According to Meltzer (h/t WrestlingInc's Eric Mutter), Reigns is only advertised for one episode of Raw this summer, that being the July 25 show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

That event is notable for being the go-home episode of Raw prior to SummerSlam in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reigns is technically part of the SmackDown roster, but he has even been absent from the blue brand recently and has not defended the undisputed WWE Universal Championship since beating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38.

That will change this week on SmackDown, as Reigns is set to defend against Riddle, marking Reigns' first televised match of any kind since competing in a six-man tag team bout at WrestleMania Backlash early last month.

Although WWE never stated it as fact, many fans assumed Reigns would be seen more often on both Raw and SmackDown after unifying the titles.

For years, WWE had brand-exclusive world titles, but now that Reigns owns both of them, a world title can only be seen if he is present.

Reigns has taken on a significantly lighter workload since WrestleMania, though, and it seems like he will primarily be confined to SmackDown moving forward.

With Reigns likely slated to defend his title at SummerSlam in July and Clash at the Castle in September, he should at least appear more regularly on SmackDown in the coming weeks and months, even if showing up on Raw is a rarity.

Bliss Underwent Surgery on Nose

Alexa Bliss recently divulged that she underwent surgery on her nose during her hiatus from WWE.

Appearing on T95 The Rock Station (h/t WrestlingInc's Dakota Cohen), Bliss discussed the procedure:

"I had surgery," Bliss said. I had to get my nose all handled because, after six broken noses, it finally collapsed."

Since September, Bliss has had two lengthy absences from WWE programming. The first lasted from September until the start of 2022. Vignettes began airing for Alexa's return to WWE, and she competed in an Elimination Chamber match at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in February.

After that, Bliss was off TV again for another three months before showing up on Raw in May.

Bliss got married during that second absence, but as she revealed in the interview, she underwent a procedure on her nose as well.

Alexa has enjoyed a great deal of success since returning, with her only loss being in a Fatal 4-Way that also involved Rhea Ripley, Doudrop and Liv Morgan.

On Monday's episode of Raw, Bliss and Liv Morgan beat Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. in a Money in the Bank qualifier, meaning Bliss will be in the women's ladder match.

Bliss won Money in the Bank and successfully cashed in once before, and doing so again would put her back atop the WWE women's division.

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WWE reportedly allowed Cody Rhodes to wrestle Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell because his injury was so severe he could not do further damage.

Fightful Select reported WWE's categorization of Rhodes' pectoral being torn off the bone was accurate, and he was cleared to perform because wrestling in a match posed no threat of extending his recovery period.

The report went on to say no one in WWE pressured Rhodes to compete, and he would not have been asked to perform if he were not insistent on completing the storyline.

Rhodes underwent surgery on the pectoral muscle Thursday and is expected to make a full recovery.

WWE offered a nine-month timeframe for Rhodes' return, though that is likely an in-storyline outlook given the statement referenced Rollins' attack from Monday's Raw.

Past WWE performers who have suffered a similar injury have typically returned in a four- to six-month timeframe, with the former being on the John Cena level of recovery time. Rhodes' actual return will likely come sometime in the winter, with the Royal Rumble being an obvious potential big-pop target.

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Reported Reason for Removing Edge from Judgment Day

Edge's removal from the Judgment Day stable on Monday's episode of Raw reportedly may have had something to do with a disagreement regarding the direction of the group.

According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Kellie Haulotte), WWE wanted to take a "supernatural route" with Judgment Day, but Edge was against the idea.

WWE had reportedly planned well ahead of time for Finn Balor to join Judgment Day, but the decision to have him replace Edge as the group's leader reportedly wasn't made until hours before Raw went on the air.

After Edge, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley beat Balor, AJ Styles and Liv Morgan in a six-person tag team match at Hell in a Cell, Judgment Day vowed to add another member on Raw.

Balor announced that he had seen the light and wanted to align himself with Judgment Day before Priest talked about getting rid of the weak link, which led to him and Balor attacking Edge.

Judgment Day was first formed at WrestleMania 38 in April when Priest helped Edge beat Styles. Then, at WrestleMania Backlash, Ripley joined the group by helping Edge defeat Styles again.

Now, it looks like Edge is set to transition back to a babyface role after his brief heel run, and the circumstances surrounding the sudden switch have left some fans confused.

Although the route to the switch may have lacked logic to some degree, it could turn out to be the best possible move for all involved.

Balor will now have the opportunity to lead his own heel group, while Edge can be a top babyface while Cody Rhodes is out with a torn pec.

Being a face is likely the best role for Edge given all he overcame to get back to WWE, and it shouldn't take much of the fans to embrace the Hall of Famer once again.

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Punk Discusses Injury, Interim Title Decision

In a YouTube video posted Tuesday, AEW world champion CM Punk discussed the injury that will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future.

On last week's episode of Rampage, Punk announced that he suffered an injury that would require surgery, meaning he would be unable to defend the AEW world title. It was clarified after the promo that Punk would not be relinquishing the title, and instead, an interim champion would be determined.

In Tuesday's video (h/t WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan), Punk expressed gratitude for AEW for allowing him to remain champion while healing, as well as for the wrestlers and fans for supporting him:

Punk also divulged a discussion he had with AEW president Tony Khan, saying: "I probably wasn't as clear as I should have been. I offered to relinquish the title and Tony told me that under no circumstances was I allowed to do that."

After Punk made his announcement, Khan laid out the plans for the interim AEW World Championship in a press release.

On Wednesday's episode of Dynamite, the winner of a battle royal will face Jon Moxley, and the winner of that match will move on to Forbidden Door where they will face the winner of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Dominion.

The winner of the match at Forbidden Door will be the AEW interim world champion, and they will eventually face Punk to determine a definitive champion.

Punk ascended to the top of AEW at Double or Nothing less than a year after making his AEW debut, as he defeated "Hangman" Adam Page for the AEW World Championship.

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Raw Ratings Up After Rhodes' HIAC Performance

WWE Raw experienced a significant bump in viewership on Monday, and Cody Rhodes may have been a big reason why.

Rhodes courageously fought through a torn pectoral muscle at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on Sunday, beating Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match.

Cody opened Raw with a promo before getting interrupted by Rollins, who shook his hand. Rollins later returned with a sledgehammer and attacked Rhodes, likely writing him off television so he can undergo surgery.

Per Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline, Raw had its best viewership numbers in the first hour, which is when Rhodes was featured.

Additionally, Raw did an average of 1.87 million viewers and a 0.52 rating in the 18-49-year-old demographic, which were both major bumps from the previous week.

Compared to the Memorial Day episode of Raw, Monday's edition was up 25 percent in viewers and 24 percent in the 18-49 demo.

Meltzer noted that the numbers marked Raw's best since the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw in April.

It was also reported by Meltzer that Raw was second only to the Western Conference Finals NHL playoff game between the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers in almost every major demographic, except 18-49-year-old women, which Raw won.

The challenge for WWE moving forward will be maintaining those numbers for Raw, especially since Rhodes is likely to be off television for months while he recovers from the torn pec.

Further showcasing established stars like Rollins, Bianca Belair, Edge, Becky Lynch and others could help, as could featuring undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns on the show, or bringing in part-timers like Brock Lesnar or John Cena, the latter of whom is scheduled to appear on the June 27 Raw.

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WWE Reportedly Surprised About Rhodes Injury Leak

WWE was reportedly surprised that news of Cody Rhodes torn pectoral muscle leaked before Sunday's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Michael Perry of Ringside News), only about 10 people were aware of the nature of Rhodes' injury after it happened, but several reports came out on the day of Hell in a Cell about Rhodes' having suffered a torn pec.

WWE announced during a house show the night before Hell in a Cell that Rhodes had been pulled from a scheduled match against Seth Rollins due to injury, which led to reporters "poking around" for more information, per Sapp.

Despite the significant injury, Rhodes battled through it and beat Rollins in a classic Hell in a Cell match.

Rhodes cut a promo on Monday's Raw about wanting to compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match, but he got attacked by Rollins, who hit him with a sledgehammer.

Sapp noted that it is unlikely Rhodes will pass up on getting his scheduled surgery this week in order to compete at Money in the Bank, meaning the promo about competing in the ladder match was likely just part of the storyline to make Rollins' attack even more heinous.

Leading up to Sunday's match, WWE announced that Rhodes had partially torn his pec during a brawl with Rollins on last week's Raw and then tore his pec completely off the bone while weight training.

Since Cody couldn't tear his pec more than he already did, it came down to pain management and whether he felt he could get through the match.

After Hell in a Cell went off the air, Rhodes cut a passionate promo and told the fans in Rosemont, Illinois, that it was 100 percent his call to wrestle the match and deliver the main event that was advertised.

If the usual timeline to return from a torn pec applies to Rhodes, he should be back by December, which would give him ample time to prepare for the Royal Rumble match.

Given his courageous effort at Hell in a Cell and how much the fans are behind him as a top babyface, Cody has to be considered a heavy favorite to win the Rumble and challenge for a world title at WrestleMania 39.

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Update on Reigns' In-Ring Schedule

There is reportedly some uncertainty when it comes to Roman Reigns' next defense of the undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Perry), Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre is locked in for Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, in September, but The Tribal Chief will be in action before then.

Meltzer noted that Reigns will "definitely" wrestle at SummerSlam in late July, although his status for Money in the Bank is up in the air.

Reigns was reportedly supposed to face Riddle at Money in the Bank before WWE reversed course. Meltzer added that while WWE may go back to that, Reigns. vs. Lashley is also a possibility with how WWE is building Lashley up as a top babyface.

If Monday night's episode of Raw is any indication, all signs point toward Reigns vs. Riddle happening eventually, whether it is at Money in the Bank or SummerSlam.

Riddle called out Reigns by name and said he intended to take the world title from him after his role in injuring Randy Orton a few weeks ago.

Reigns was not part of the Hell in a Cell card, and while he wrestled at WrestleMania Backlash, it was a six-man tag team match, and his titles weren't on the line.

The Head of the Table hasn't had a championship defense since beating Brock Lesnar to unify the WWE and Universal Championships at WrestleMania 38 in April, but WWE does seem to be laying the groundwork for his next defense.

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Cena Teases Theory Match Ahead of WWE Return

John Cena is continuing to drop hints regarding a potential match against United States champion Theory.

On Monday, Cena posted a photo on his Instagram account of Kevin Owens' boot stepping on the U.S. title.

That photo was from several years ago when Cena and Owens feuded over the United States Championship, and it may be a sign that the veteran intends to pursue the title once again.

On Monday's episode of Raw, WWE announced that Cena is making his return to WWE programming on the June 27 edition of Raw, which is the final Raw before Money in the Bank.

Theory has been calling Cena out and essentially begging for a match with him for months, and Cena has even responded from time to time.

During a recent appearance on WWE's TikTok account, Cena was asked to name the WWE Superstar most in need of an attitude adjustment, and he mentioned Theory.

WWE is clearly heavily invested in the 24-year-old Theory, and some have even compared him to a young Cena.

Theory has been working closely with WWE chairman Vince McMahon for months, and at WrestleMania 38, he wrestled Pat McAfee and took a Stunner from "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

He subsequently beat Finn Balor for the U.S. title and has been on a roll ever since, including defeating Mustafa Ali at Hell in a Cell.

If WWE wants to get Theory to the next level, a feud with Cena is perhaps the ideal way to make it happen, and it seems as though Cena is interested in the idea.

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