3 hours Ago By Chris Roling
While the temperatures outside drop, the pro wrestling rumor mill around WWE and AEW just keeps getting hotter. A little cliche, yet true. That rumor mill reaches far beyond the upcoming WWE Survivor Series: WarGames and AEW's Full Gear this month to start looking at long-term booking for things like the Royal Rumble.
And it's not just the rumble, either. WWE will head to Netflix soon; AEW has major booking hurdles with top stars, and with the looming WrestleMania season, names like John Cena have started to pop up in the buzz. It's no easy task keeping pace with the mill, so here is a look at the most important items to know and whether fans should buy or sell on them.
The Rumor Jon Moxley is back at the forefront of AEW programming, which has led to questions from fans about the direction. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), Moxley is in creative control of things in his orbit and can do "what he wants" with Tony Khan's approval. Reaction Moxley fatigue can be a real thing, especially when his current character isn't all that different from his prior iterations.
And yet, the story around him his pretty compelling right now as AEW seeks a top guy to carry programming. If nothing else, it should keep fans invested on a weekly basis or, at the very least, checking updates. Buy or Sell? Buy.
Sometimes a promotion needs to just let its top guys cook. Moxley can, and will. Maybe it doesn't draw in a bunch of new viewers at this point, but the how and why of story beats and surefire strong in-ring matches are a worthy headline act.
The Rumor It's always fun to check in on the latest WWE vs. AEW chatter. According to Fightful Select (h/t Ortman ), AEW isn't concerned about the competition anymore after its new TV deal—and it's implied that WWE is actually more invested in that competition right now.
Reaction AEW satisfied in the wake of a TV deal makes sense, right? The niche has been established. Given that, it's a little jarring to think WWE cares all that much when its third show, NXT, just beat AEW Dynamite in ratings this month. That's a one-off occurrence (for now), but it feels like the audience capture between the two companies is pretty well-defined.
Buy or Sell? Huge sell. WWE's worried about growing even bigger under the TKO umbrella after dramatic shakeups to storytelling, presentation and PLE formats. For better or worse, they're expanding internationally and beyond looking at the AEW roster for potential upcoming free agents, the competition has felt like it has been over for a while now.
The Rumor The well-hinted John Cena retirement tour in 2025 is almost here. And in a promotional ticket sales video for the Royal Rumble, Cena himself swears it will the "last time" he competes at the event. Reaction Cena is 47 years old and has made it clear that he's on his way out.
More interesting now is how he might compete there. Will he be an entrant in the rumble itself? Will that be a win and a springboard to a historic new title reign? Or will he compete in a title match? Impossible to say, but fun to fantasy book. Buy or Sell? A little bit of both? The 2025 Rumble is probably the last time Cena does a full-go match, sure.
But this is pro wrestling—him being a surprise legacy entrance in rumble matches over the course of the next decade would be pretty standard pro wrestling stuff. The Rumor The first revived Saturday Night's Main Event takes place on December 14 in New York. According to WrestleVotes , the second NBC special will take place on January 25.
Reaction Such a date would pin the NBC special just one week before the Royal Rumble. That makes it an interesting possible combination of Royal Rumble go-home show and the "Night 1" of the rumble event itself, seeing as WWE has kept it as a one-night PLE this year. Buy or Sell? Buy.
What better way to make sure WWE fans understand that these NBC specials can be really important and worth watching? Slap some matches that could have been on the Royal Rumble card itself on there and use the show as a chance to further develop the stories that will play out at the major PLE, too. The Rumor WWE fans haven't seen much of Drew McIntyre since the supposed conclusion of his feud with CM Punk. But according to WrestleVotes (h/t Ortman ), that could change soon—WWE has spitballed the idea of Wade Barrett returning to fight his old friend.
Reaction Barrett, announcer extraordinaire, hasn't graced a WWE ring in an official match since 2016. But if he's ever going to return for a match at all, McIntyre nearly tops the list of possible opponents, given their history. Buy or Sell? It's a pretty easy buy.
Fans have clamored for Barrett to get back in the ring for years. He'd be a nice short-term feud for McIntyre, especially now as he's sort of between major storylines ahead of 'Mania season. It would be really fun to see how the story develops between the two, even if the matches are brief.
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