WWE Rumors on Jey Uso, Crown Jewel 2023; Corey Graves Denies CM Punk Fan Speculation

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

Jey Uso Earning Praise From WWE Officials, Solid Merch Sales

Suffice it to say Jey Uso's ascent to the main event has gone swimmingly.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported is held in "high regard" by top WWE officials and has been "excelling" at live-event merchandise sales. Uso has "performed well" since moving away from the Bloodline, while new tag team partner Cody Rhodes has seen his gear flying off shelves.

Rhodes and Uso somewhat surprisingly defeated The Judgment Day over the weekend at the Fastlane premium live event to become Undisputed Tag Team champions. The move will allow Rhodes and Uso to move back and forth between Raw and SmackDown, which gives WWE a workaround for Uso having "quit" the show in storyline.

It also ties Rhodes more closely to Roman Reigns and likely sets up a scenario where he will eventually "finish the story" and be the person who finally dethrones Reigns' record-setting run as champion.

As it stands, though, Uso might get another Cody bump in merch sales and continue his own ascent to the top of the card.

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Crown Jewel Matches Already 'Locked In'

WWE doesn't head to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel for another month, but it appears the company already has plans in place for the card.

PW Insider reported "early creative for the top matches" has been "locked in."

There is no word on what those matches are, but WWE typically goes all out in finding top talent for Saudi shows.

Brock Lesnar, who has not been seen on WWE programming since SummerSlam, is a decent bet to show up. Lesnar has been a regular on Saudi shows since their outset, so his absence would be notable.

Roman Reigns is also set to return to SmackDown this week and has not competed since SummerSlam. Given the importance of having top stars on the Saudi shows, it would be a surprise if Reigns was not part of the card.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio recently said the Saudi show could be headlined by Reigns vs. John Cena. However, Cena's time in WWE is likely finite as studios and actors work on hammering out a deal to end their strike.

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Corey Graves Denies Making CM Punk Reference

CM Punk may eventually return to WWE, but Corey Graves was not giving fans an Easter egg on commentary this weekend.

Fans went wild speculating that Graves was referencing Punk when he said Seth Rollins is "riding on the edge of a lightning bolt" following his victory over Shinsuke Nakamura.

Graves quickly took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to rebut the fan theories:

Ever since his unceremonious exit from AEW, there has been rampant fan discussion about Punk returning to WWE. Survivor Series is set for Punk's hometown of Chicago this year, leading to some hope the prodigal son would finally make his comeback.

That may wind up happening, though fences certainly need to be mended, but Graves was clearly not hinting at anything Saturday night.

Punk has not competed in WWE since the 2014 Royal Rumble.

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