WWE Rumors: Reigns vs. Rhodes; Tama Tonga and Richard Holliday; Push for Young Talent

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

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WWE Reportedly Planning Reigns vs. Rhodes Rematch

Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes headlined WrestleMania 39 in an undisputed WWE Universal Championship match last month, and there are reportedly plans in place to run it back at some point.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Reigns vs. Rhodes is the "long-term destination" for The Tribal Chief's title run, potentially in the main event of WrestleMania 40, although that is not confirmed.

After missing several months due to a torn pectoral muscle, Rhodes returned at the Royal Rumble in January and won the 30-man Royal Rumble match to earn a title shot against Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 39.

While The American Nightmare was widely expected to prevail, Solo Sikoa's interference helped Reigns win the match and retain the undisputed WWE universal title.

Rhodes requested a rematch the next night on Raw, but Reigns declined. Rhodes was supposed to team with Brock Lesnar against Reigns and Sikoa as a consolation, but Lesnar viciously attacked Cody instead.

Since then, Rhodes has been embroiled in a heated rivalry with Lesnar, and they will do battle once again at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Reigns is dealing with turmoil within The Bloodline, as he is furious with The Usos over dropping the undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at WrestleMania, leading to Roman and Solo teaming up to face KO and Zayn at Night of Champions.

It is unclear what the direction is for Reigns and the WWE Universal Championship heading into the summer, but Rhodes would be a sensible SummerSlam opponent if he can win Money in the Bank on July 1 to force Roman to have the match.

Otherwise, building all the way to WrestleMania 40 for the rematch may be WWE's best course of action.

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WWE Reportedly Interested in Signing Tonga, Holliday

Two notable professional wrestling free agents have reportedly been garnering interest from WWE lately.

According to Meltzer (h/t Upton), WWE is interested in both New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Tama Tonga and MLW's Richard Holliday.

Meltzer noted that WWE has liked Tonga "for some time" and added that WWE likes Holliday's "story," as he was previously diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and it is currently in remission.

WWE has not made any major signings since merging with the UFC last month, and while there has been speculation about some financial cuts, as is customary when a company is sold, Meltzer's reports suggest WWE is still in the market for new talent.

The 40-year-old Tonga has been with NJPW since 2010, and he has established himself as one of the best tag team wrestlers in the world during that time, holding the IWGP Tag Team Championships seven times with Tanga Loa.

Tonga is also a two-time NEVER openweight champion, meaning he has plenty of singles experience and the ability to be utilized in that way if WWE so chooses.

Holliday is far younger at 30 and has only been wrestling since 2015, but it hasn't taken him long to make a name for himself.

He is best known for competing in MLW since 2018, and he is a one-time MLW tag team champion, holding the title with current AEW world champion MJF.

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WWE Reportedly Planning to Push Younger Talent on Raw, SmackDown

WWE is reportedly planning to put a bigger spotlight on some of its younger talent moving forward.

According to Meltzer (h/t Upton), there is a "big internal focus" on featuring and pushing young stars on both Raw and SmackDown.

Many of WWE's veteran Superstars are currently at or near the top of the card, including Reigns, Rhodes, Lesnar, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair and others, but WWE has its fair share of young stars on the rise as well.

Rhea Ripley is the SmackDown women's champion, Austin Theory holds the United States Championship and Dominik Mysterio is coming into his own as one of the hottest heels in the wrestling business.

WWE also recently called up a host of Superstars from NXT to the main roster as part of the WWE draft, including Grayson Waller, Cameron Grimes, Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn and Indi Hartwell.

Additionally, WWE seems to have a ton of potential developing in NXT, as Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Tiffany Stratton and Roxanne Perez are just a few of the NXT Superstars who could be main event players in the near future.

WWE has no shortage of star power, but it appears as though the company wants to ensure that it has a strong succession plan in place once some of its aging stars retire or move into a part-time role.

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