WWE Rumors: Examining Latest Buzz Around Batista, Brodus Clay and More

The latest batch of WWE rumors addresses the possibility of a Batista return and speculates on Brodus Clay's future. 

A recent sighting of "The Animal" Batista had fans buzzing over whether he would be back in a WWE ring soon. Clay hasn't been seen at all; Xavier Woods usurping his entrance music and dance partners had folks whispering about what's happening with "The Funkasaurus."

Other rumors address whether John Laurinaitis will be back, where Layla El is and what social media trend over the weekend had WWE officials upset. Digging through the latest backstage reports reveals a number of denial-filled rumors sure to let some fans down.

Batista

Batista was last seen powerbombing WWE Superstars in 2010. He was spotted backstage at an NXT taping at Full Sail University, per PWInsider, via WrestlingInc.com.

For anyone hoping that means that the former world champ will be back in WWE soon, a more recent report has some bad news.

PWInsider, via WrestleZone.com, reports "there have been no real talks within WWE regarding Batista potentially returning to the company."

That doesn't rule out the situation changing, but for now it looks as if he will stay retired. However, expect WWE to become more interested in the big man once WrestleMania season rolls around. Many big names, like The Rock and The Undertaker, aren't locks for the event thanks to injury and other factors.

Batista would be a good consolation prize if WWE can't get the folks on the top of its list.

Survivor Series Social Media Note

Fans watching Survivor Series were apparently reliving the controversial way the 1997 event ended on social media instead of commenting on the 2013 version. WWE was reportedly not happy with the show's inability to engage.

PWMania.com reported the following:

"

Word from backstage at Survivor Series is that at the 90-minute mark of the show, when the only thing trending worldwide was Bret Hart, a lot of people were unhappy internally. Other officials were not in a good [mood] over WWE’s inability to get stuff to trend past the American Music Awards and the big NFL game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos.

"

WWE sometimes puts too much stock into what is trending on Twitter and other sites. Perhaps people were too busy enjoying the elimination tag team match to tweet snarky comments.

Plus, the Hart jokes were there for the taking.

The show offered some great entertainment, but there is little the company could have done to have NFL diehards pull away from a marquee matchup like Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning. Building pay-per-views more effectively should be more of a focus than trying to shift social media trends.

John Laurinaitis

"Mr. Excitement" made a cameo at Survivor Series, appearing in a brief backstage segment with R-Truth, Los Matadores and Santino Marella.

Does that mean that The Authority is adding yet another executive to its ranks? It appears that the answer is no.

According to PWMania.com, "Laurinaitis is not expected back full time and apparently has reportedly being doing some agent work backstage."

Hopefully this turns out to be true. WWE has plenty of  authority figures, with Kane, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero all in control of the company to some extent.

Laurinaitis' brief appearance was the right amount of his presence.

Layla El

Even when WWE booked 14 Divas for elimination matches at Survivor Series and Monday's Raw, Layla wasn't asked to compete.

And the assumption that she is injured is apparently incorrect.

F4WOnline, via WrestlingInc.com, reports that "Layla is not injured, but there's no word yet on where she's been."

The remaining options to explain her not being on TV include personal issues, being in WWE's doghouse or the Diva and WWE preparing to part ways. Layla is in the top half of the company's female performers, so it's surprising to see less talented Divas get more screen time than her.

The situation is sure to become more clear as more reports surface. There has to be something more at work than Layla just being asked to be on the sidelines.

Brodus Clay

WWE has been without its prime source of funk. Clay has been out of action and off TV for months.

The company then decided to have newcomer Woods make use of Clay's entrance theme as well as the dancing services of The Funkdactyls. That led to some backstage chatter.

PWInsider, via WrestlingInc.com, writes that "people backstage at last night's RAW were wondering about Brodus Clay's future." The report goes on to say, "No word yet on what this means for Clay or if they're setting up for a feud between the two."

Pairing Woods with The Funkadactyls is a good move that gets him some added attention. Using Clay's entrance music is a stranger choice.

It certainly feels as if the company is moving toward replacing Clay or having a future rivalry over the theme and dancers. WWE may not even know where it's going with this and is just hoping to add some pop to Woods' package, fully prepared to handle the Clay-and-Woods issue when it comes up.