WWE Rumors on The Rock-WrestleMania 40, Vince McMahon, Roster Morale and Nick Aldis

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

The Rock Open to WrestleMania 40 but No Guarantee

Stop me when you've heard this before: WWE is hopeful The Rock will make his in-ring return at next year's WrestleMania after sitting out this year's.

Oh, you've heard that pretty much every year since 2013? Us too.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said WWE is once again hoping The Rock will make a comeback at WrestleMania 40, indicating The Great One left a "crack in the door" after declining to make his return in Los Angeles.

"Dwayne Johnson, when he turned down this year due to schedule, did leave a crack in the door open about possibly doing Philadelphia at WrestleMania 40 next year, but that was far from a commitment and certainly nothing anyone should count on happening," Meltzer said.

One of the many reasons Roman Reigns' win over Cody Rhodes last weekend was confusing was the lack of notable challengers remaining for the Head of the Table. Reigns has pretty much run through every babyface on the roster over his nearly three-year reign as champion, leaving a fresh, white-hot opponent like Rhodes as a natural successor.

There appears to be some level of continuation going on in Rhodes' story, but even if he ultimately winds up unseating Reigns, the moment won't be on as big of a stage as WrestleMania.

The Rock almost certainly won't be coming back for an extended title reign, and there's no need to have any Rock vs. Reigns match carry a championship stipulation. At this point, WWE should require a 100 percent commitment from Rock to have him anywhere near their plans for next year in Philadelphia.

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Morale Improved After Vince McMahon Not at SmackDown

Last Monday's Raw is the third-worst-rated show in the history of wrestling according to Cagematch voters.

It was an incoherent, disjoined show seemingly caused by the not-so-triumphant return of Vince McMahon to the gorilla position. There were several last-minute changes to the script and at least one that very obviously took place during the show. Seth Rollins came out for a promo segment that was cut while he was standing in the ring during a commercial break.

Fan footage showed a frustrated Rollins being handed the news, and he was far from the only talent not happy with how Raw was handled.

Fightful Select reported backstage morale took a "huge hit" with McMahon back in the fold. There was an understandable fear that things would be going back to the old way of doing things, with McMahon's whims once again overtaking any sense of storyline continuity.

Come SmackDown, however, a sense of normalcy appeared to return. McMahon was not in attendance for Friday's SmackDown, and his notes on the show were minor, according to Fightful Select. This led to an improvement in backstage morale, though many talents remain wary of McMahon's presence in creative.

With McMahon finally ceding power in the company amid the sale to Endeavor, it's time to have him ousted. It's not likely to happen in the early stages of the UFC merger, as the new company will want to show a sense of normalcy to investors.

That said, within the next year, Endeavor boss Ari Emanuel should wrest control of the company from McMahon and install a leader who engenders faith from the locker room and staff.

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WWE Currently on Hiring Freeze; Aldis Not Coming For Now

As anyone who's ever been part of a company that's gone through a merger knows, it's typically not the best time for hiring. The newly merged companies tend to comb through redundancies and make more budget-related cuts than massive expenditures.

In that sense, it's possible—if not likely—we'll see a round of layoffs hit WWE in the coming months. WWE CEO Nick Khan did not deny layoffs could be coming in an interview with Sara Fisher of Axios.

"An integration team is going to be put into place between both companies in short order, and we'll know—we'll have a lot more in the next week or two," Khan said.

While redundancies between talent in UFC and WWE are nonexistent, the merger could put a halt on any new or returning faces coming back. Fightful Select reported there is a "hiring freeze" within WWE, which puts former NWA World Champion Nick Aldis "out in the cold."

Triple H was reportedly keen on signing Aldis to a contract before McMahon became more heavily involved in the process. Other Triple H favorites like Tama Tonga and Brian Cage could also see their potential moves to WWE halted.

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