Today in WWE rumors — WWE officials are already over one new character, Paul Heyman remembers how the federation “wanted nothing to do” with CM Punk, a major announcement concerning Smackdown and Daniel Bryan working European shows in November.
WWE Rumors for August 25th
WWE RUMORS: Officials already giving up on new character
Bad news for the Rose Buds — WWE brass is just about done with the Adam Rose character and his traveling party band. According to PWMania, the WWE rumors are that Rose and his buds have been absent from WWE because his character just wasn’t getting over with the audience.
Rose hasn’t been on WWE TV since a win over Damien Sandow on Raw on July 28th. His previous Raw appearance was a mixed tag match win with Summer Rae over the team of Fandango and Layla.
Rose recently reappeared in NXT, as a partner to Sami Zayn, and is currently teaming with Zayn in the NXT tag team tournament to decide the #1 contenders for the NXT tag team belts.
REACTION: The WWE has as much patience as network television when it comes to new products. Network TV will pull a new show after one week, one airing, or sometimes even before the show hits the air. WWE will allow a little longer leash but usually only if it’s a character or angle Vince (or Kevin Dunn) personally takes affection towards. A good example of this is Fandago (a Vince favorite) who continues to show up on WWE even after continuous loses and a general lack of interest from the WWE universe.
RELATED: DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT ON RAW?
The Adam Rose gimmick was big in NXT but that doesn’t always mean it will be gold on Raw. Honestly, I never cared much for the gimmick and his Rose Bud army, but I’m not sure it was really given a fair chance. Vignettes leading up to Rose’s arrival on Raw went for months. I’d imagine that would be enough of a reason to give the character more time and more matches. I’m also always perplexed as to why the WWE doesn’t flip the script. If Rose wasn’t getting over with fans, why not get the character some heat? Have Rose and the Rose Buds interrupt interviews, cost popular wrestlers matches, or do anything just to annoy the hell out of the WWE audience?
WWE RUMORS: WWE never wanted CM Punk
CM Punk’s name comes up more now that he’s retired from professional wrestling than it did at the summit of his WWE Heavyweight Championship title run. The man single-handily keeping Punks names in the dirt sheets is Paul Heyman. In all fairness to Paul, he probably gets tossed countless questions about Punk in every interview, so he really doesn’t have any other option but to answer to the best of his knowledge.
Heyman was a guest on the Kidd Chris show. The conversation turned to Punk. Heyman cleared up a few WWE rumors and dished about his time working in developmental for the WWE and how he’d have to beg week after week for Punk to get a call up to the big show. The WWE wanted nothing to do with the future champion.
They never wanted CM Punk to begin with,” Heyman told Kidd Chris. “When I was in Louisville, doing WWE Developmental, they sent CM Punk down to me so I could fire him. Every week I would send memos to guys who were in charge of the Raw and SmackDown rosters saying: ‘You have a main eventer down here; someone scoop him up’ and no one would take him for a year—to the point when we launched ECW in WWE, I brought him with me because no one else on Raw and SmackDown even wanted him.”
REACTION: This should come as little shock to anyone who’s followed the WWE for a significant period of time. The WWE has a rich history of missing the mark on several talented superstars. Daniel Bryan was let go from the federation once before making a name for himself on WWE TV. In defense of the WWE, it’s hard to tell just who will excel under the bright lights and who’ll become just another footnote. But if Paul Heyman, a great wrestling mind and honest evaluator of talent, repeatedly says “pay attention to this guy” it’s in the best interest of everyone involved to at least give the guy a shot.
WWE RUMORS: Daniel Bryan back in November?
Last week, WWE rumors ran rampant on the internet that Daniel Bryan would need additional surgery, this time on his injured shoulder. A day later, it was reported the additional Tommy John surgery wasn’t true. Now, they’re true again. How the hell would Bryan have time to “cheat” with a trainer, it seems like the dude spends all day in a doctors office?
Anway, Daniel Bryan is now being advertised for November shows in Europe. No matches have been set but Bryan’s name is appearing in all advertising for shows.
REACTION: Daniel Bryan isn’t coming back any time soon. At least not in the ring. But he’s still got a contractual obligation to the WWE. I think this is just the WWE getting more cans in the seats but advertising a fan favorite. Bryan will make the trip overseas, walk out to the ring, wave his good arm hello, and head to the back.
Now, if this is the WWE advertising Bryan and there are no plans for him to show, that’s just a jerk move from a company desperate to recoup financial losses by duping fans. I’m hoping it’s the former and not the latter.
WWE RUMORS: Smackdown moving to Thursday night
These WWE rumors have been percolating for months but it looks as though Smackdown is finally moving back to Thursday nights.
Beginning on October 2nd, WWE Smackdown will air on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET. The eagle eyes over at WrestlingRumors.net checked out the upcoming SyFy schedule for and noticed the change will start in just over a month. The show moved from Thursday to Friday over a decade ago.
REACTION: These Smackdown WWE rumors long time coming and a huge move for the WWE product. Friday night television is a tough sell. People are out drinking, eating or doing many other things besides sitting home and watching television. Even if a hardcore wrestling fan records Smackdown, there’s no guarantee he or she will get to watching it over the weekend. Then Monday rolls around, Raw is hours away, and fans think “eh, screw it, I’ll just read the recap.” I realize Thursday television is a crowded scene but there’s at least the chance of flipping between WWE and other must-see TV.
In addition to the move, WWE should really consider viable options to making Smackdown a live show. I realize logistically it’s a tough move, and only really worked when the company had separate brands, but I feel the show loses a chunk of audience since spoilers are so readily available online.
Got more WWE rumors, photos or something I’ve got to see? Leave it in the comments or reach out on Twitter @chrisilluminati.