Triple H Talks AEW; Theory 'Confident' in John Cena Match; WWE Rumors on Paul Heyman

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Triple H Speaks About AEW

On a weekend that saw WWE and AEW put on two of their biggest shows of the year, Triple H opened up about how much he keeps an eye on what the competition is doing.

In a BT Sport interview with Ariel Helwani (h/t Fernando Quiles Jr. of Wrestling Inc.), The Game was asked if he pays attention to AEW.

"Do I watch it on a week-to-week basis? No," he replied. "Am I aware of what's happening there? To a degree. I'm not following everything they do. There's sometimes I'll see somebody would say, 'Oh, it's very similar to what they do.' I'm like, 'I had no idea.'"

Given how much is on Triple H's plate as WWE's chief content officer, he would never have enough time to watch everything AEW is doing.

But it is reasonable to believe that multiple people on WWE's creative team at least keep tabs on their competition. That's just smart business to glean things from what is happening in the wrestling world.

When Triple H was in charge of the original NXT, it was marketed as WWE's developmental brand where the next wave of main-roster superstars would come from. While that was true in some regard, it was also the company's attempt to appeal to fans of the non-WWE promotions in the world.

Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Adam Cole, Samoa Joe and many others were already established names to the hardcore wrestling audience long before they went to NXT. WWE was well aware of that when those stars were signed to NXT.

If there are things AEW is doing that are resonating with fans, people in WWE should keep tabs on it to see how they might incorporate some aspects of it without directly copying it.

Theory Still "Confident" Cena Match will Happen

Despite some teases of a match with Austin Theory happening over the summer, John Cena wound up not being a part of SummerSlam.

In an interview with CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri (starts at 13:10 mark), Theory said he is "pretty confident" a bout with Cena will take place at WrestleMania 39.

The teases of a feud between Cena and Theory were ongoing earlier this year. The 13-time WWE champion responded to a snarky birthday tweet from the young Superstar in April:

After his surprise Money in the Bank win in July, Theory cut a promo for the live crowd when the show was off the air saying "nobody can touch me, not even John Cena."

The two met face-to-face on Raw during the episode celebrating Cena's 20-year anniversary in WWE.

According to Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Angel Aramboles of WrestlingNews.co), Cena wasn't available to work SummerSlam on July 30 because he was filming Season 2 of Peacemaker.

Depending on Cena's schedule, WrestleMania would be an ideal stage if he's going to work another match in WWE. The event is being held at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Cena's last televised match was a loss to Roman Reigns in the main event of SummerSlam 2021 for the WWE universal championship. He also worked a six-man tag match with Rey and Dominik Mysterio against Reigns and the Usos in September 2021 that wasn't on television.

Theory is a rising star in WWE who has shown solid potential with his first major push. A potential feud with Cena on the biggest show of the year could elevate him to another level if it ends up happening.

Paul Heyman Still Selling Lesnar Attack

It's been more than one month since Paul Heyman was seen on television after being attacked by Brock Lesnar.

Per Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Heyman was backstage helping out during Clash at the Castle on Saturday, but he didn't appear on the show to continue selling his injuries.

Heyman got laid out with an F-5 through the announce table by the Beast in the SummerSlam main event.

Lesnar wound up losing to Reigns in a Last Man Standing Match after being attacked by the Usos and buried under a mountain of tables, ring steps, chairs and anything else that could be found at ringside.

That also marked the most recent appearance for Lesnar on WWE television.

While Heyman's presence has been missed because of what he can do on the microphone, it's smart booking to keep him off TV for a while to get over the severity of the injuries he suffered during the attack by Lesnar.

This also gives the creative team a chance to decide potential next steps for Heyman. It's possible he returns in his same role as special counsel to Reigns, but perhaps Triple H and the rest of the staff have a new idea for Heyman to try when he does return.

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