WWE Rumors: Examining Latest Buzz Around Roman Reigns, Steve Austin and More

Before one assumes the rumors that Roman Reigns' family is upset with WWE are true, note that Steve Austin just laid the smack down on a number of stories going around about him.

Reigns' family is reportedly upset with how WrestleMania 31 went down. That narrative, of course, changes depending on who one talks to.

As for Austin, fans were lucky enough to hear from the subject of recent Internet rumblings. The Texas Rattlesnake cleared up a good many things in his most recent podcast. Or at least, he tried to.

Other WWE rumors suggest that we may soon see a new United States Championship design and that Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar ended up being the victim of a segment running over. 

We begin with Austin, who fired holes into a number of rumors centering on him.

"Stone Cold" Refutes a Host of Rumors

Austin's absence at WrestleMania 31 had fans stirring. Word that he and Vince McMahon were having issues soon popped up.

On The Steve Austin Show (h/t Wrestle Zone), Austin dismissed those rumors along with several others.

He claimed to have no issues with WWE management. Austin also said that there were no plans for him to attend WrestleMania. He didn't refuse to host Tough Enough but didn't end up doing the show because of scheduling conflicts. 

As for suggestions that McMahon didn't like some of his questions on his podcasts on the WWE Network, Austin said that this was not true. He says that there were talks of doing more podcasts, but no deal has been made.

PWInsider reported many of those stories that Austin was referring to. Mike Johnson, one of the key writers for that site, stands by his previous reports. He writes of Austin not showing up to WrestleMania, "As we reported Mania week, when Austin did not fly into San Jose, it was a topic of conversation among those within the company."

Johnson adds that "there was a clearly marked locker room for Austin" in the backstage area of the arena and writes that there was indeed "friction between the two sides" concerning his podcasts.

The conflicting stories muddy the picture here. The details of what is going on between WWE and Austin are unclear. Is Austin trying to smooth things over with a political response, or is he being fully upfront here?

Despite Austin's comments, these rumors aren't quite dead. Many fans are going to believe something else is going on behind the scenes.

Spinner Belt Coming Back?

John Cena has been issuing an open challenge for the U.S. title every week since winning it at WrestleMania. As that concept continues, Cena may soon be holding up a different version of the belt.

PWInsider's Johnson reports, "There is talk of a new United States championship belt being made and/or the current belt being updated for Cena. One person told me that was at Cena's request, but I don't know that to be 100 percent."

It's not clear whether this means that it will be anything like Cena's version of the title when he first won it 10 years ago. Speculation is sure to build, though. When one thinks of Cena as U.S. champ, it's hard not to think of that rotating title belt he once sported.

Credit: WWE.com

One thing fans can take from this report is that WWE is likely going to keep the strap on Cena for a good while. The company isn't going to design a new belt for him just to have him lose it the next week.

Cena's "U.S. champ" era is fully underway, spinner belt or not.

WrestleMania Timing Issues

The WWE title match at WrestleMania 31 reportedly got shafted.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t SEScoops), the segment with The Rock and Ronda Rousey went long, forcing WWE had to cut 10 minutes off the main event. Officials reportedly wanted to first cut down Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker but made the change to Reigns vs. Lesnar instead.

The match ended up being great. Would Reigns' visiting Suplex City for 10 more minutes really have improved it much? Probably not. 

Credit: WWE.com

The shorter ring time benefited the less experienced Reigns. The rumored cut, though, does feed into the idea that Reigns' family would have felt he was short-changed that night.

Reigns' Family Drama?

The facts that Reigns didn't end his WWE title bout as champ and that Seth Rollins walked out with the title instead are said to have ignited some tension between officials and Reigns' kin.

Credit: WWE.com

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc) reported that many of the member of the Anoa'i family were upset over the match's finish, as plans changed from Reigns' winning to Rollins' ending up on top. A WWE source told the outlet that Reigns' father Sika was ready to start a war over it.

F4WOnline (h/t Wrestling Inc) later added that while Sika was furious with the result, his brother Afa was not as angry. Although some family members reportedly wanted Reigns to quit, the report notes that Reigns took the loss just fine.

Michael "P.S." Hayes dismissed these reports. He tweeted that he spoke with Sika and heard a different story altogether:

Sika and Company's being incensed over this would certainly be an overreaction. Reigns was still in the WrestleMania main event and has continued to be a prominent part of the show.

WWE made the right call anyway. The surprise of Rollins' cash-in made that bout something special. It put an already successful WrestleMania over the top.

If Reigns was promised a title reign, however, it's understandable if things got heated backstage. Until Sika comes out and tells his side or Reigns reveals what went down, fans are going to have to choose between trusting Hayes and the source who spoke with Wrestling Observer Newsletter.