Rumor Roundup: SmackDown frustration, format change, Drew McIntyre issue, more!
Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill.
Important reminder: Rumors are just that — rumors. None of this has been confirmed as fact, it's just circulating around the pro wrestling rumor mill. We track rumor accuracy in a weekly feature called Rumor Look Back you can find here. Remember, take it all with a grain of salt.
Rumors for the Day:
According to WrestleVotes, there is frustration within WWE regarding SmackDown being three hours, as there is apparently 'creative fatigue.'
That said, the format is expected to go back to two hours after WrestleMania, apparently sometime in June.
PW Insider says that Drew McIntyre legitimately had to get something removed from his eye after the car spot with Damian Priest on SmackDown last week but apparently it wasn't glass.
TNA+ had its subscriber count double in the past year, per Fightful Select, thanks in large part to contributions from members of the marketing team who were just recently fired.
Kevin Knight signed with AEW but Insider says he had an invite for a tryout with WWE at the Performance Center 'several weeks ago.' Obviously, he made the choice to sign with AEW.
Fightful notes NJPW wanted to keep Knight when his deal expired in January but he was always expected to find a deal in the States. AEW's money offer was simply the best.
Advertisement
If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you'd like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Just remember they are rumors and not confirmed as fact, so please take them as such. And check our weekly Rumor Look Back here to keep track of how often rumors turn out to be correct.
More from cagesideseats.com:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cody Rhodes Has Perfect Reaction to Tom Brady's WWE Entrance
Cody Rhodes Has Perfect Reaction to Tom Brady's WWE Entrance originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Tom Brady won seven Super Bowl titles during his legendary NFL career, and while all that success paved him a road to Canton, he surely made a lot of haters along the way. On Friday, Brady embraced his villainous persona again, but on a different stage— all in good fun, as he played to the crowd. Advertisement During the Fanatics Fest in New York City, the former New England Patriots quarterback made his way into the event with a championship belt and with WWE superstar Cody Rhodes' theme song blaring in the background. The three-time NFL Most Valuable Player tried to further entertain the crowd by spitting on a Sauce Gardner-New York Jets jersey and ripping New York Giants' Eli Manning uniform in half. Right then, Manning made a surprise appearance, jumping onto Brady's back and piggyback-riding him up the entrance ramp for a very WWE-like exit. Manning, of course, is also famous for leading the Giants to two Super Bowl victories over Brady and the Pats, including one in the 42nd edition of the "Big Game" in 2008, when New York ruined New England's chances for an immaculate season. Advertisement WWE shared the video of Brady's entrance via its social media platforms, which caught Cody Rhodes' attention. Rhodes, who lost his undisputed WWE Championship belt to John Cena at WrestleMania 41 last April, appeared to acknowledge Brady as the greatest of all time by leaving three goat emojis (🐐🐐🐐) as a comment to the post. Tom Brady looks on before the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Lebryk-Imagn Images Whether Brady is indeed the greatest to ever play football or not, it's clear that he still attracts quite the mainstream attention long after he retired from the sport. Now 47 years old, Brady threw for 89,214 passing yards and 649 touchdowns with 212 interceptions in 335 NFL regular season games, split between the Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Advertisement Related: Tom Brady Had Three Words After New Eli Manning Video Emerges This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
See it: Giants legend Eli Manning 'attacks' Tom Brady at Fanatics Fest NYC
Former Super Bowl rivals Tom Brady and Eli Manning had another showdown, this time at the Fanatics Fest at the Javits Center in New York City. In a grand WWE-like setting, Brady made his entrance to a raucous crowd, tearing opponents' jerseys, including that of Manning's. Eli did not take kindly to the diss, playfully "attacking" Brady. It was all in good fun in the end, and the two legends made up and even had a catch afterward. Over the years, Brady has been vocal about his two losses to Manning in Super Bowls XXII and XLVI. Eli outdueled him in both contests and was named MVP of both games. That has stuck in Brady's craw ever since. Had he been able to beat the Giants, he might have nine Super Bowl rings instead of his NFL record seven.
USA Today
7 hours ago
- USA Today
WWE SmackDown takeaways: John Cena delivers his own version of CM Punk's pipe bomb
WWE Friday Night SmackDown on June 20 took place at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., and featured a showdown between John Cena and R-Truth, which led to the greatest callback in wrestling history. This week's show was a pretty solid offering as things built toward Night of Champions and the King and Queen of the Ring Tournaments progressed. Tiffany Stratton told Nia Jax they'll meet next week for a Last Woman Standing match for the women's US title, and Jax also prevented a cash-in from Naomi after attacking the champ. Charlotte Flair picked up a win over Chelsea Green and got some help from Alexa Bliss. Plus Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and Randy Orton had a moment on the mic in the ring. There was plenty to like this week, but here's the top 5 takeaways from this episode: Asuka advances to Queen of the Ring final The first match of the show was a Queen of the Ring semifinal match between Alexa Bliss and Asuka – two Superstars who recently returned from lengthy absences. The crowd was lively for this one and the match was fantastic, but Bliss being a little too cautious may have cost her in the end. After getting Asuka to the mat, she went up for Twisted Bliss. However, when she reached the top rope, she paused, and jumped back into the ring, thinking Asuka was just lying there playing possum. Well, she was right, and Asuka took advantage. A few back and forth moment later, Asuka hit her finisher to advance to the final. It's good to see WWE treat Asuka to some key victories here since her return. A Queen of the Ring tournament win would be perfect to propel her into another title run. We'll see how it all goes in the finale, but so far, so good with Asuka since her return. Randy Orton advances to King of the Ring finals After the promo, the KOTR semifinal match between Randy Orton and Sami Zayn began. Zayn chopped away at Orton early, but quickly found himself repeatedly bouncing off the newly reinforced announce table. As the match continued, Zayn struggled to keep momentum as he ate Orton's signature DDT. Zayn managed to drop Orton onto the announce desk and hit a Blue Thunder bomb. However, the Helluva Kick wasn't there for him, even after stuffing an RKO attempt. The next RKO attempt connected, though, and Orton earned his way into the finals. This was a fun match, and of course it was going to be with Zayn and Orton working. Now we have Orton facing off against the winner of Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso for the KOTR, which is a good final no matter what. The story is going to be how Monday's match between Rhodes and Uso plays out. Expect shenanigans. Jacob Fatu puts Solo Sikoa in his place Solo Sikoa took to the ring to hash things out with Jacob Fatu. It was an olive branch from the former Tribal Chief, but Fatu wasn't buying it. Sikoa attempted to tug on Fatu's heartstrings, playing up the family angle. Sikoa said he was solo (pun definitely intended) without Fatu by his side. Fatu didn't believe a word of it. Fatu said Sikoa has been using him this whole time to grow his own power. Fatu also said he knows what the real issue is between them: that he holds the United States title. Without saying it directly, Fatu accused Sikoa of being jealous. So, if that's what the problem is, fight for it. Just as Fatu wrapped up his signature tagline, Sikoa took a swipe at him, but was intercepted. However, JC Mateo rushed out to assist, and the two put a beating on Fatu until Jimmy Uso ran down to lend a helping hand. So, we're getting Fatu vs. Sikoa for the US title at Night of Champions, which should be a good one. Of course, there's no way this match ends up completing without interference, but I can't help but wonder if the family drama will draw out an appearance from Roman Reigns. LA Knight wrecked by Paul Heyman's crew LA Knight started off the show in the ring with an emphatic callout of Seth Rollins. Instead, he received Paul Heyman. After an entertaining back-and-forth between the two, complete with Knight making fun of Heyman's voice screeching, Knight was ready to fight Heyman since he didn't deliver Rollins. Heyman quickly rolled out of the ring, but delivered one last warning to Knight: Get out of the arena or he'll regret it. Fast forward later in the show, Knight took on Bronson Reed in a singles match. Of course, it wasn't just Reed. Bron Breakker and Heyman were ringside as well. As such, Breakker found his spot to interject and nailed Knight with a spear, causing a DQ. From that point, it was total destruction. Reed held up Knight for another spear from Breakker, and then Reed delivered multiple Tsunamis. Ouch. This is a great feud for Knight to be in. Sure, he wants the top of the faction in Rollins, but it looks like he's going to have to fight his way up the unnamed faction's ladder (seriously though, how do they not have a name yet?). John Cena's pipe bomb The main event of this week's episode was a grudge match between WWE champ John Cena and Ron Killings aka R-Truth. Killings attempted to have the match take place earlier in the show by attacking Kit Wilson, who was scheduled to face Aleister Black. That match never happened, which Black took exception to later backstage. Fast forward to the main event between Killings and Cena. Killings got the upper hand early, and managed to maintain his momentum long enough to get Cena to attempt to walk out on the match. Killings ran down the aisle to stop Cena, and got clocked over the head with the belt. After the DQ, CM Punk ran out to fight Cena. Things returned to the ring where Cena dropped Punk with a low blow and then smashed him across the head twice with the title. Cena then put Punk through a sponsored table with an AA. Then Cena grabbed a mic and ran his own version of Punk's infamous pipe bomb. Cena said he was jealous that he's been able to convince the fans he's "the best in the world." He called Punk "the best bullsh*tter in the world," and while the fans chant and sing with him, they don't believe a thing he says. Cena called out and waved to a few former WWE Superstars like Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro), Nic Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler) and Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder). He then tapped his mic to check if he was still live. "Remember who gave you the stage for your pipe bomb, pal," Cena said. Cena then said he's done nothing since that moment but regurgitate the same tired things on the mic, and has become the thing he once despised. As Cena continued and called himself "the greatest of all time," he earned chants from the crowd, and told Punk to bring his A-game to Night of Champions because the mood is starting to change. "Thanks for letting me rip off your promo to make you look even more foolish," Cena said before dropping mic. Amazing. Well, the haters of Cena's heel run are going to have a hard time keeping a straight face when trying to say this promo wasn't incredible. This was the best moment of Cena's heel run, and there's nothing else that comes remotely close. Was it a direct rip-off of Punk's pipe bomb? Yes, but that was the point. This was the callback to trump all callbacks. In fact, it was the greatest callback in the history of pro wrestling. Cena was in the ring writhing in pain after being put through a table, while Punk went up the ramp to deliver the original. Furthermore, who was Cena wrestling in a singles match that night? Ding, ding, ding! R-Truth. This was brilliant all around. No matter what else happens with Cena's heel run, everything will point back to this moment as the highlight of it all. If something somehow manages to top it, well, then there won't be much to criticize about the heel run after all.
