WWE Rumors: Examining Latest Buzz Around Alberto Del Rio, Curt Hawkins and More

For Alberto Del Rio and Curt Hawkins, WWE rumors point to their careers heading in opposite directions.

After returning to WWE in late 2015, Del Rio may already be considering leaving the company. The story is unclear for now, but that won't stop fans from reading into everything Del Rio says and does from here on out.

Hawkins, meanwhile, may end a two-year WWE absence. He is rumored to be joining the SmackDown family. 

Potential additions and subtractions to both Raw and SmackDown were a major theme in this week's batch of rumors. Online buzz also has fans wondering if Zack Sabre Jr. will sign with WWE after the Cruiserweight Classic tournament and whether the blue brand will be adding to its collection of championships. 

But before we dive into those topics, let's look back at Sasha Banks' misdirection.

A Quick Look Back

The current women's champion was set to face off against Charlotte and Dana Brooke at Battleground. Banks' mystery partner for the match was a topic of much discussion.

Many believed it be NXT's Bayley who would come to The Boss' aid. Banks, though, pointed us elsewhere.

On the topic teaming with Bayley, she told fans in a Streamable video, "She's in NXT, and I don't want to bring her up here, because I don't want to lose." She also tweeted that Wrestling Observer Newsletter founder Dave Meltzer couldn't guess who her ally for the night would be:

Of course, it turned out to be Bayley in spite of all that.

Dan Velton of F4WOnline.com noted Bayley was Meltzer's "first guess." Lots of folks saw that coming, and The Boss simply tried to throw everyone off the scent.

Lesson learned. Add Banks to the list of WWE Superstars not to trust online alongside Chris Jericho and Finn Balor.

Cruiserweights Coming?

The majority of the men battling to be the best wrestler in the world under 205 pounds in WWE's ongoing Cruiserweight Classic tournament will remain free agents afterward. WWE isn't going to sign 32 new guys.

But with a cruiserweight division on the horizon for Raw, one would expect the company to scoop a number of the talents featured in the tourney.

Will British sensation Sabre Jr. be on that list? Not right away it seems.

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet wrote, "Multiple sources tell us Zack Sabre Jr. was recently offered a contract. However, the young wrestler couldn't sign it at this point in time due to a personal matter."

That sounds like WWE is interested in him—something that won't just go away. Sabre is a master technical wrestler who would be an invaluable addition to the upcoming cruiserweight division. Expect WWE to bring him in before long.

Satin also noted that a source told him WWE has looked to sign TJ Perkins, Cedric Alexander, Noam Dar and Akira Tozawa from the tournament field. What a haul that would be. With just a few of those guys around, the cruiserweight division would suddenly be something special.

Hawkins En Route to SmackDown

Now that the WWE draft is over, Raw and SmackDown are looking to add to their talent pools via free-agent signings.

Jinder Mahal showed up on Monday's Raw. Rhyno leaped into the ring on SmackDown last week. Hawkins, a former tag team champion, appears to be the next face from the past to show up on TV.

PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson wrote, "We can also confirm that the former (and possibly future) Curt Hawkins, Brian Myers, will be returning to the SmackDown brand shortly." Johnson later reported that Hawkins was backstage at Tuesday's SmackDown taping and was expected to return on that show.

Fans won't have to wait long to find out whether Zack Ryder's old ally is indeed stepping back into the ring for the blue brand. The conversation will then shift toward speculation about who will follow him. 

SmackDown Adding More Championships

Raw is not the only show set to revamp its championship situation. According to F4WOnline (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), the plan is for SmackDown to add both a tag team and women's championship of its own. 

SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan already confirmed the latter. He appeared on the Bear Hug It Out podcast and revealed that a new women's title is in the works.

That could mean that the SmackDown-exclusive tag team belts will soon be on the way, too. That makes sense in retrospect. During the draft, WWE effectively split both its tag and women's divisions rather than have one of the brands focus on one of those areas of the roster.

The blue brand getting two new titles will feel excessive at first, but as the shows start to build their own universes, it makes sense to give everyone gold to fight over. Plus, we could see both Banks and Becky Lynch as champions at the same time.

Pay-per-views that feature both brands are going to be overrun with title bouts, though.

Del Rio Readying an Exit?

It may be time to start savoring Del Rio's performances. The Pride of Mexico could be on the way out in the fall.

Meltzer mentioned on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Nick Paglino of Wrestle Zone) there is word that Del Rio's contract contains an out clause he may be able to exercise in September.

WWE fired the former world champ in 2014 after an incident with a backstage employee. The company did rehire him in 2015, but is there any lingering tension between the two sides? 

Del Rio showed last time he left that he could thrive in non-WWE settings. He traveled from Lucha Underground to Ring of Honor, from the indys to Mexico, as he became wrestling's hottest commodity.

There's no indication he wants to take that trek again, but there will continue to be whispers on the subject because he reportedly has the contractual opening to do so.