WWE Rumors on Cody Rhodes Return, Kevin Owens vs. Stone Cold, Rok-C Contract Update

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

AEW EVP Believes Cody is WWE-Bound

There is reportedly some belief within AEW that Cody Rhodes either has signed with WWE or is going to sign with WWE.

According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan), one of AEW's executive vice presidents "fully believed that Cody Rhodes was signed or was signing with WWE and would face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania."

Rhodes has been a free agent since last month when he announced he was departing the company after being one of its founding members in 2019.

Since that time, conflicting reports have made the rounds regarding whether he would go back to WWE, which was the promotion he was part of from 2006 until his release request was granted in 2016.

Creative differences were primarily behind Rhodes' WWE departure, as he was stuck with the Stardust gimmick and seemed unlikely to ever break out of the midcard.

After leaving WWE, Rhodes became a big star elsewhere, holding the Ring of Honor World Championship and IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in New Japan Pro-Wrestling before helping to form AEW.

Along with president Tony Khan and fellow executive vice presidents Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, Rhodes helped create the most successful alternative wrestling product to WWE since WCW went out of business in 2001.

In addition to being an EVP behind the scenes, Rhodes was one of AEW's top stars in the ring, competing in many high-profile matches and holding the TNT Championship three times.

His AEW departure came as a shock given his status within the company and the assumption that he had no shortage of creative control.

Wrestlers tend to give up a great deal of their creative control when they go to WWE, but WWE remains the biggest promotion in pro wrestling by a wide margin, and it could aid Rhodes in any Hollywood aspirations he may have.

If Rhodes does go to WWE, Monday night's episode of Raw would be a logical spot for his debut since it is being held in Jacksonville, Florida, which is AEW's home base.

Having Cody show up in Jacksonville would be a shot across the bow at AEW and would maximize the publicity for WWE and Rhodes.

In the event that Cody signs, it seems likely that he would face Rollins at WrestleMania 38 next month since Rollins is the highest-profile Superstar on the roster without an opponent.

If that happens, it will add another huge match to an already stacked WrestleMania card that will be headlined by a world title unification match between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.

WWE Reportedly Canceled Owens Promo on SmackDown

WWE reportedly nixed its initial plan to have Kevin Owens cut a promo regarding his WrestleMania confrontation with Stone Cold Steve Austin on last week's SmackDown.

According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Robert Gunier), the promo was produced by Jason Jordan and was scheduled to be shown on SmackDown, but it never happened.

Fightful added that it is unclear if the promo was cut due to time constraints or for a different reason.

On last week's episode of Raw, Owens cut a promo during the main event segment and called out Austin, challenging him to appear on a special edition of The KO Show on Night 1 of WrestleMania 38.

In the weeks prior, Owens constantly expressed his disdain for the state of Texas, which led to rumors and speculation of Austin coming out of retirement for his first match since WrestleMania 19, which occurred 19 years ago.

Instead, Owens simply challenged Austin to show up, and the day after Owens laid down that challenge, The Texas Rattlesnake responded.

The WWE Hall of Famer accepted and vowed to take the fight to Owens in his home state in front of tens of thousands of fans at AT&T Stadium.

WWE has not called the Austin vs. Owens confrontation a match, which suggests they will cut promos and get into a tussle, commencing with Austin hitting Owens with a Stone Cold Stunner.

Even if it isn't an official match, the segment is one of the most highly anticipated parts of WrestleMania already, and that is despite the fact that there hasn't been much build yet.

Since Owens is a Raw Superstar, the expectation is that he will address his upcoming confrontation on Monday night's episode of Raw.

Rok-C Reportedly Signs with WWE

Former Ring of Honor women's champion Rok-C has reportedly signed a contract with WWE.

According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, the plan is for Rok-C to be part of NXT, although it is unclear when she will start for the company.

Rok-C took part in WWE tryouts, and Johnson reported that she has recently been backstage for multiple NXT tapings.

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, who trained Rok-C as part of his Reality of Wrestling promotion in Houston, said last month that WWE signed Rok-C, although it hadn't been confirmed by a news outlet until this week.

At just 20 years of age, Rok-C is one of the most highly sought after prospects in all of professional wrestling.

Just months after making her ROH debut last year, Rok-C won a tournament to become ROH women's champion. She later dropped the title to Deonna Purrazzo on a January episode of Impact Wrestling.

With Rok-C losing the title, speculation increased regarding her going to WWE, as she had already taken part in a tryout for the company.

Since WWE has shifted its focus in NXT toward younger wrestlers, Rok-C seems like a perfect fit, especially since her close friend Cora Jade has enjoyed a great deal of success on the brand at the age of 21.

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