Buy or Sell John Cena SummerSlam Match, WWE's Fear with a Cody Rhodes Heel Turn, More

The pro wrestling rumor mill is doing its best to match the scorching temperatures of the summer. 

What used to be a little lull before the ramp up to SummerSlam has turned into something else completely, especially this year. WWE has the Saudi Arabia trip to Night of Champions hovering around end of June, which means King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. There’s the Goldberg retirement match happening at a special event soon, too, to name a few of the highlights.

Beyond those major backdrop items, the rumor mill offers up plenty of the expected exclamation points, too. Think, fallout around major injuries, booking decisions with widespread consequences, possible surprise returns and character turns that would go down as some of the biggest moments of the entire year and beyond. 

Which is to say…there’s a lot to keep up with right now. Here’s a look at the must-know buzz and whether fans should buy or sell on each. 

Liv Morgan injury chaos

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The Rumor

The Liv Morgan injury has changed everything. According to BodySlam.net (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), the plan was for Morgan to challenge Iyo Sky for the women’s world championship in Saudi Arabia. 

Reaction

Morgan suffered a dislocated shoulder during a match against Kairi Sane just as WWE started teasing her feud with Sky. And before that, WWE had Morgan get nasty with Nikki Bella, seemingly setting up something for the Evolution 2 PLE. 

Buy or Sell?

Huge buy. Morgan is one of the top attractions in the company right now and was set to be in prominent spots at both major stops before SummerSlam. Instead, WWE has had to rip up plans now and into the future.

Karrion Kross speculation

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The Rumor

Few Superstars have had as strange of a path as Karrion Kross lately. It gets weirder, too, with Wade Keller (h/t Ortman) reporting that Kross’ not taking bumps is why he doesn’t have a bigger spot on the main roster. 

Reaction

This is one of the funniest rumors to make the rounds in a while. Kross has a prominent spot on Night of Champions with a singles match against Sami Zayn. He had a role at WrestleMania 41, too, around Logan Paul, before cutting a memorable post-show promo. 

Buy or Sell?

Sell. Fans are sure to take a microscope to Kross’ match at NoC and beyond. So…keep an eye on if he’s bumping or not? But so many other things go into whether a wrestler gets pushed or not, so it’s hard to imagine “bumping” is the main factor here. 

Roman Reigns Return and Nickname Change?

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The Rumor

Roman Reigns being on his way back isn’t a surprise, but a report from WrestleVotes said it will happen soon, anyway. Maybe more interesting is the same outlet reporting that Reigns could have a new nickname beyond the “Tribal Chief” thing. 

Reaction

It will be weird to hear Reigns called something other than Tribal Chief. But it is losing some luster, too. What the next nickname could be sort of hinges on his storyline and whether he’s a good or bad guy. 

Buy or Sell?

Buy, though not with a hard timeframe. WWE could just be spitballing ideas in the background. If he’s not heavily involved in family-styled storylines anymore, maybe the next nickname leans into his part-time and Hollywood status these days. The possibilities are fun. 

John Cena Plans?

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The Rumor

Not that it should shock anyone, but WrestleVotes (h/t Ortman) reported that WWE still plans for John Cena and Cody Rhodes to have a rematch at SummerSlam. 

Reaction

Spoiler alert, right? This going out so early seems to make it pretty clear that at NoC, Cena will beat CM Punk and Rhodes will indeed become King of the Ring. 

Buy or Sell?

Buy, despite it being a little disappointing. If this is the way WWE wants SummerSlam to go, it takes all of the air out of fan theories. Randy Orton or CM Punk heel turns, Cena staying around much longer than anticipated, all of it. If that’s the main event for the summer’s top PLE, it’s painfully obvious Rhodes will win his title back and Cena will start to turn back to the good side before his goodbye. 

Cody Rhodes Heel Turn?

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The Rumor

Rhodes turning heel is one of those fan theories that could be dead in the water, too. According to Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer (h/t Ortman), while The Rock seems to still like the idea, someone in WWE said Rhodes turning heel is the one thing that “could possibly hurt our business right now.”

Reaction

No way. Rhodes becoming more compelling as a character isn’t going to hurt business. It’s not like WWE doesn’t have Punk, Jey Uso, Reigns and countless others as major merchandise movers, too. And it’s not like the main-event scene doesn’t have amazing babyface and tweener characters to play that top role as his main adversary. 

Buy or Sell?

All that aside…buy on The Rock still wanting to see Rhodes go heel. There’s an allure to a corrupted, corporate-suited Homelander imposing his will at the top of the food chain.