This week’s edition features future plans for Brock Lesnar, backstage information on the latest set of releases, a 14-time World Champion possibly having retired, a legend’s concern over a WrestleMania storyline, and more. Let’s get right into it:

#3. Hope is true: WWE pushing Drew McIntyre to face Brock Lesnar again?

Drew McIntyre’s journey on SmackDown has started well, with the Scotsman poised to become one of the brand’s biggest babyfaces. With Roman Reigns having incredible momentum as a heel, it puts McIntyre in the best position to occupy the top babyface role.

That doesn’t mean he’ll only be involved in a feud with Reigns. Over a week ago on the Blue brand, Drew McIntyre faced Mustafa Ali. He’s been having his own set of open challenges, which seems to be a way of getting him warmed up on SmackDown.

It was over a year-and-a-half ago when The Scottish Warrior defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 to become the WWE Champion. Unfortunately for McIntyre, his big coronation had to happen behind closed doors at the Performance Center due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It seems as though Drew McIntyre’s unusual Kimura Lock victory over Mustafa Ali was no coincidence. According to a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, his use of the move was meant to subtly plant the seed for a future rematch against Lesnar:

We hope this is true because the feud between Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar felt incomplete. It’s also a match that needs to happen with a live crowd present. Even the match at WrestleMania 36 itself happened in a matter of minutes.

Whether it leads to another coronation for McIntyre or not is yet to be seen. However, with Roman Reigns as the top dog of SmackDown for the foreseeable future, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

#3. Hope isn’t true: Triple H to never wrestle again in WWE?

Has Triple H wrestled his last match in WWE? Over his incredibly long career, we’ve seen him have some of the most important spots at any given WrestleMania card, with The Game having headlined the event seven times throughout his career.

However, before his brief match on RAW in 2021, he hadn’t competed in the ring for Vince McMahon’s company since 2019, focusing more on his backstage role. He even admitted on Sportscenter in 2020 that he was “glad” to not be a part of the WrestleMania card that year.

Triple H was in the news this past September when it was revealed that he had undergone surgery for a genetic cardiac issue. With NXT 2.0 under Shawn Michaels’ control, Dave Meltzer of WON revealed that The Game still isn’t back at work.

Not only this, but Meltzer stated that we may never see Triple H compete in the ring again:

We hope this isn’t true, because one final retirement match would be the perfect way to end The Cerebral Assassin’s storied career.

#2. Hope is true: Randy Orton was frustrated with WWE over Bray Wyatt storyline

WWE’s handling of the Randy Orton-Bray Wyatt storyline seemed disastrous from start to finish. While the sight of Orton ending TLC by immolating The Fiend was a shocking sight, nothing after that built that much anticipation.

It felt as though the primary feud was between Randy Orton and Alexa Bliss, with The Fiend returning much later in the storyline. Understandably, Wyatt was frustrated with how it was handled, because that also turned out to be his final match in the company.

According to Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select, The Viper was also reportedly frustrated with the handling of the entire storyline.

Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Matt Black wrote:

We hope this is true because Randy Orton also had every right to be angry with how Vince McMahon’s promotion handled the storyline and the blowoff match.

#2. Hope isn’t true: One of the factors behind the recent WWE releases

There were a couple of shocking names on the recent set of WWE releases. While it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise anymore, it seems as though nobody is untouchable.

Nia Jax was perhaps the most shocking name on the list, followed by Keith Lee, who was a superstar with regular TV time. B-Fab of Hit Row reportedly signed a contract recently, while Eva Marie’s second tenure with the company was extremely short-lived and served little purpose.

According to a report from WON, WWE’s change in approach to recruitment and the developmental system had a role to play. Age reportedly played a big factor behind some of the releases.

Sportskeeda Wrestlin’s Sripad wrote:

We hope this isn’t true because many of the superstars released were on the better side of their 30s. Not only this, but wrestlers have far more longevity these days because of better diets and workout regimens. Most of the released performers were in their prime.

#1. Hope is true: WWE’s plans for Brock Lesnar in early 2022

Brock Lesnar was suspended indefinitely on SmackDown by WWE official Adam Pearce and was then fined $1 million. This was done for the promotion to write him off in the storyline, presumably marking his final appearance for 2021.

Lesnar will return in early 2022, and he has also been advertised for the Royal Rumble. It was heavily rumored that WWE intends to extend his storyline with Roman Reigns, presumably until WrestleMania 38 at the AT&T Stadium.

When discussing the lack of part-time superstars, Dave Meltzer noted on WON that the plan is for Brock Lesnar to appear a lot between January and WrestleMania:

We hope this is true because January to WrestleMania might be the most we see of The Beast Incarnate in a concentrated set of appearances. It will be interesting to see if he becomes the favorite to win the Men’s Royal Rumble match in 2022.

#1. Hope isn’t true: Keith Lee had attitude issues backstage in WWE?

Keith Lee was pushed from the get-go upon his WWE main roster debut last summer. It was right after SummerSlam 2020 when he made his main roster debut, and within the same week, he defeated Randy Orton.

He was regularly pushed and was reportedly on course to dethrone Bobby Lashley to become the United States Champion, but plans changed and Riddle won the title instead.

Lee took an extensive hiatus, which he revealed was due to COVID-19 and post-COVID effects. His career even seemed to be under threat at one point, but he managed to make a comeback.

According to Wade Keller on the PWTorch VIP ad-free audio show, Keith Lee reportedly had perceived attitude issues backstage, going back to his NXT tenure:

We hope this isn’t true because Keith Lee is a promising talent and was considered by many as a future WWE world champion.

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