WWE Rumors on Roman Reigns' Return, Karrion Kross Backstage and Aleister Black Push

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

Preparations Reportedly Being Made for Reigns' Return

Roman Reigns has not been seen on WWE programming since April, but his absence reportedly may soon come to an end.

WrestleVotes reported Thursday that Reigns' name has "popped up internally in recent weeks," which is usually a sign that his return is on the horizon.

Additionally, WrestleVotes (h/t Wrestle Ops) reported that WWE is discussing potential nicknames to use for Reigns when he returns, independent of his hugely popular Tribal Chief moniker.

At WrestleMania 41, Reigns faced CM Punk and Seth Rollins in the Triple Threat main event of Night 1. Rollins was victorious when Paul Heyman shockingly turned on both Reigns and Punk.

Two nights later on Raw, Reigns saved Punk from an attack at the hands of Rollins, only to get speared by Bron Breakker, who joined forces with Rollins.

Breakker also speared Reigns through the barricade, followed by a stomp from Rollins, which wrote Reigns off television for the foreseeable future.

Given that the SummerSlam premium live event on Aug. 2 and 3 is a two-night event for the first time in WWE history, it would make sense for Reigns to return to the fold before then.

If he comes back before SummerSlam, a singles match against either Rollins or Breakker could be in the cards, or Reigns could potentially team with Punk against Rollins and Breakker.

Night of Champions will take place Saturday in Saudi Arabia, and while Rollins isn't on the card, he is in possession of the Money in the Bank contract, meaning he could try to cash in during or after the WWE Championship match between John Cena and Punk.

That would create the ideal scenario for Reigns to return and prevent Rollins from cashing in as payback for WrestleMania.

Reported Backstage Perception of Kross in WWE

WWE sources have reportedly denied claims that Karrion Kross is viewed negatively within the company.

This week, Wade Keller said on the PWTorch Raw Post-Show (h/t Cultaholic.com's Aidan Gibbons) that wrestlers have told him Kross "doesn't really take bumps."

Keller added that there is some thought Kross will never be able to reach the level of a top star in the company due to his alleged unwillingness to bump in his matches.

However, Fightful Select (h/t WrestlePurists) reported Friday that multiple people who have produced Kross' matches in WWE said they have never found Kross' bumping to be an issue.

Kross, 39, first signed with WWE in 2020, and he enjoyed a dominant run in NXT, holding the NXT Championship twice. However, his presentation was changed when he got called up to the main roster, and he was released in November 2021.

With Triple H taking over creative, WWE re-signed Kross in August 2022. While he has been a consistent presence on WWE programming since then, he has not managed to ascend past the midcard on a consistent basis.

Kross seemingly gained some fan support coming out of WrestleMania 41, though, thanks to a fiery and passionate promo he cut on the WrestleMania 41 recap show on YouTube.

Since then, Kross has consistently received hugely positive responses from the crowd whenever he appears.

In recent weeks, Kross has had several backstage interactions with Sami Zayn, leading to a match between them at Night of Champions on Saturday.

Regardless of the result, Kross has a chance to put any rumors about his willingness to bump in the past with a strong performance against one of WWE's best in-ring workers in Zayn.

WWE Reportedly Planning Aleister Black Push

A big push reportedly could be in store for Aleister Black following his return to WWE in April.

According to PWInsider (h/t Wrestle Ops), WWE decision-makers have been happy with Black's in-ring work and merchandise sales, and plans are in place to move him up the card.

Black feuded with The Miz and Carmelo Hayes after returning to the company, but WWE seemed to be setting him up for some new rivals on last week's episode of SmackDown.

The former NXT champion took issue with Ron "R-Truth" Killings attacking his scheduled opponent, which led to a backstage confrontation between Black and both Killings and Damian Priest.

Black first arrived in WWE in 2016, and he remained with the company until his surprising release in 2021.

While Black was an instant star in NXT, he never quite reached that same level on the main roster. However, there was a great deal of hype surrounding his arrival in AEW as Malakai Black in 2021.

Black made a huge impact by feuding with Cody Rhodes to start his AEW career, but he eventually transitioned into more of a trios wrestling role with his House of Black stablemates.

Now that he is back in WWE, Black is flying solo once again, and it sounds as though some big things could be in his future.

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