WWE Rumors: Examining Latest Buzz Around The Shield, Jeff Hardy and More

The week that was in the WWE saw the execution of a quality No Mercy pay-per-view, which included a humongous victory for Roman Reigns, who defeated John Cena clean in the center of the ring in what was the most significant match of his wrestling career.

It is not so coincidental, then, that The Big Dog found himself in the news in the aftermath of the event. He was not alone, though, as his name was mentioned in the same sentence as Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, suggesting a hotly anticipated reunion may be in the works.

Joining Reigns in the rumor mill is the injured Charismatic Enigma Jeff Hardy, and Finn Balor.

A Shield Reunion Is In The Mix

If you watched Raw Monday night, you know The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel laid out Reigns and stood over him. Then, in a moment that piqued the interest of the audience, they extended their arms and engaged in the fist bump made famous by The Shield.

Sunday night, during the No Mercy pay-per-view, Pro Wrestling Sheet's James McKenna took to Twitter with a scoop that will affect WWE programming for the foreseeable future:

The Shield has been gone from WWE television, split since 2014 when Seth Rollins blasted Reigns and Dean Ambrose with a steel chair.

This past summer, management began planting the seeds for a reunion of sorts, reuniting Rollins and Ambrose. Reigns has been the key element missing from the equation. That he was at such a high level, a bona fide main event star who spent the three years after the split in a marquee position, only made it more difficult to bring him back to the pack.

McKenna's report was lent credibility by the events of September 25.

Miz even mentioned The Shield and suggested that, had The Miztourage been around five years ago, no one would remember the trio of former WWE champions.

There will be some who will argue the reunion is taking place at the wrong time, that it should be saved for WrestleMania season when it would mean more.

The fact of the matter is that The Shield is indelibly etched in TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs history. Their first match on WWE television was at the pay-per-view, where they defeated Daniel Bryan, Ryback and Kane in the namesake match.

Reuniting them to help boost that pay-per-view's tickets and WWE Network subscriptions is a smart move on the part of a creative team faced with competition for fans' attention by the National Football League.

Origins of Jeff Hardy's Shoulder Injury

As reported by WWE.com, Jeff Hardy suffered a rotator cuff injury and will need surgery to repair it.

While most may point to last week's Six Pack Challenge match to determine the No. 1 contender to The Miz's Intercontinental Championship as the origin of the injury. During that match, Hardy was noticeably favoring the shoulder.

As Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reported, though, Hardy has been working with the injury since the July 9 Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view.

On that night, Jeff teamed with brother Matt in a physically grueling 30-Man Iron Man match for the Raw Tag Team Championships against Sheamus and Cesaro.

That Hardy has continued to work with an injury that needs surgical repair is a testament to his toughness. It is also not at all difficult to see why. He was experiencing a rejuvenation of sorts with his brother. They were wrestling some phenomenal matches against Sheamus and Cesaro, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows and The Revival.

He had also been very effective in the limited singles bouts he worked since WrestleMania 33.

To see him forced to the sidelines at this point in his career, with momentum on his side, is disappointing, to say the least.

Finn Balor and The Universal Championship

Just 24 hours after defeating Seth Rollins to become the first universal champion at SummerSlam 2016, Finn Balor relinquished the title due to injury. He has yet to receive a shot at the title he never rightfully lost, despite being back on the main roster since April.

Expect that to change, as Cageside Seats reports.

"Finn Balor is being positioned as Lesnar’s next challenger, likely at Survivor Series or Royal Rumble."

Survivor Series or Royal Rumble depends on whether or not WWE has any plans to utilize Lesnar the rest of 2017.

If not, the match will be an explosive complement to the Rumble card in Philadelphia.

Before that feud can start, though, WWE Creative must end the ungodly Balor-Wyatt rivalry that continues despite the latter's consecutive, decisive victories.