The annual installment of WrestleMania might be in the past now, but this late May portion of the pro wrestling calendar has enough to feel like a rumored ‘Mania weekend.
WWE is leading the charge with its thrilling King and Queen of the Ring in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the results will play a big part in summer programming as opposed to being a one-off that isn’t necessarily canon.
AEW has Double or Nothing, the 2024 edition, with Swerve Strickland in a key title defense, an advancement of the Elite saga and more.
Throw in the usual dash of free agent drama and contract speculation and it makes for what is quietly one of the biggest weeks for the rumor mill, so here’s a look at what you need to know and whether or not to buy .
As everyone could have predicted, one of the biggest free agency rumors of the week involved Jinder Mahal.
All kidding aside, according to Fightful (featuring Cageside Seats’ Randall Ortman), Mahal has generated interest from “numerous” promotions around the globe since his WWE debut.
And again, jokes and memes aside, this is an easy purchase. Mahal is a former top WWE champion who can play an excellent heel character. Incidentally, his departure from the company after cutting an extremely underrated promo in a segment with The Rock was a surprise.
If WWE wants to put him in a place where they know millions will be watching for years to come against a star of this caliber, it’s obvious that other promotions – AEW and beyond – would have a lot of interest.
Verdict: Purchase
By now, fans seem to know the deal with WrestleMania 40.
There, backstage stuff led to Cody Rhodes actually getting his Royal Rumble win over The Rock, then it was all torn up and rewritten due to fan backlash. Instead, a tag match featuring Rock and Roman Reigns against Rhodes and Seth Rollins took place on Night 1, before Rhodes dethroned the Tribal Chief the following night.
Brian Gewirtz recently said on Busted Open Radio (with Ortman), however, that the original plan was an idea that fans “would have hated more than anything in life itself.”
This would seem to suggest that WWE would find a way to get Rhodes to face CM Punk at ‘Mania, while Rock fought Reigns based on the good reaction to his “head of the table” comments in during a promotion.
But… it’s a massive sell. First off, WWE fans are no strangers to having unwanted storylines thrown their way. And for two, nothing would top the amazing that was Rhodes walking out and dropping his Royal Rumble victory to a part-timer after another year of building his story. Do you want proof? Every fan has a tacit agreement to pretend it never happened.
Verdict: For sale
At AEW Revolution, pro wrestling fans got a nice cameo in the form of Sting’s son appearing as Wolfpac Sting.
Could this be a sign of things to come?
According to Fightful (h/t Ortman), Sting’s youngest son Steven Borden has trained or will start to become a professional fighter himself.
And honestly? That makes a ton of sense. He has the football training that many pro wrestlers have and has one of the modern greats in his corner as an industry guide.
That’s not to say fans will see the results of the workout soon after the short, promising-looking cameo, but it wasn’t wise to think things would pan out that way.
Verdict: Purchase
Is a WWE Hall of Famer on his way to the open market?
According to Fightful (h/t Ortman), Mark Henry has a contract that expires this month, which could end his behind-the-scenes role with the company.
At this point, though, it doesn’t feel like Henry will be leaving the company he’s been with since 2021. All signs pointed to him being a valuable addition as a coach and media personality. That stability he claimed to bring to the WWE locker room at the time is probably nice for a younger company to have as well.
And hey, it doesn’t even feel like an on-screen personality role waiting for Henry in this new WWE look right now.
Verdict: For sale
It sure feels like we’re getting closer to that big MJF comeback.
And immediately, Fightful (h/t Ortman) reported that AEW believes the former champion is returning to the Forbidden Door.
Last year, it was no secret that MJF would be taking time off to deal with injuries after losing his world title to Samoa Joe, and the projected schedules seemed to suggest “spring” as a general consensus with look at the return.
Forbidden Door kind of fits that idea, and aside, he’s from New York and that pay-per-view event happens to be in that general area, which lines things up nicely for standard pro wrestling, the big return in front of a house friendly the crowd thing.
Verdict: Purchase
Natalya is a name that continues to make waves every week in the rumor mill.
A week ago, rumblings of her possible slide to free agency began to emerge. Now? According to Fightful (h/t Ortman), WWE has indeed been in contact with Natalya about a contract extension.
And while the report says no agreement has been signed, feel free to file it under matter of time category.
Natalya has been around for too long and remains too important for WWE to lose. He feels like one of those lifers, especially in the way he can mentor younger talent behind the scenes while also massively putting them in the ring at times.
Verdict: Purchase
