WWE's momentum has slowed since WrestleMania, but the coming months are shaping up to be far more exciting for fans of the company.
John Cena's retirement is looming, and he has some big matches on the horizon, both at this weekend's Clash in Paris and the upcoming Wrestlepalooza PLEs. Survivor Series: WarGames isn't that far off either, and then we'll be back on the Road to WrestleMania.
In our latest WWE rumour roundup, we have news on former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's recent birthday celebrations, WWE's deal with ESPN, the latest on Chris Jericho's rumoured AEW departure, and much more.
- Vince McMahon recently celebrated his birthday in New York, and PW Insider has learned that The Undertaker, Michelle McCool, Kane, John Cena, Gerald Brisco, Sheamus, Bruce Prichard, JBL, Sgt. Slaughter, Shane McMahon, and Ron Killings were among those in attendance.
- Wrestlepalooza takes place next month, and the same site is reporting that John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre are being discussed as the two main events for the first WWE PLE on ESPN+.
- @WrestleVotes says that WWE decided to use the old ECW event name, "despite some negative pushback from higher-ups at RAW on Monday."
- Talking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer believes the WWE archive will likely be on the ESPN+ service by the end of the year. That's been backed up by Sports Illustrated's Jummy Traina.
- Meltzer has also claimed that part of the reason Saturday Night’s Main Event will now air exclusively on Peacock is because "the NBC numbers are far lower for the show than anyone expected."
- The SmackDown tag team division has been on fire lately, and Bodyslam.net reports that WWE is planning a feud between the Wyatt Sicks and the MFTs (Solo Sikoa's Bloodline) in the near future.
- There are conflicting reports about Chris Jericho's future. Fightful Select's sources have said that his name "hasn’t come up whatsoever around the creative process, so if conversations have happened regarding him internally, it wasn’t in that department."
- Still, Jericho is said to be on good terms with WWE, and the site explains that there's been no creative discussions in AEW about him either. However, he typically talks directly with Tony Khan.
- In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer states his belief that Jericho could "start in WWE as a Royal Rumble surprise" in Saudi Arabia.
- @WrestleVotes backs that up, revealing that there's significant interest on WWE's side in bringing Jericho back into the fold as soon as his AEW contract expires at the end of 2025.