Buy or Sell Chris Jericho's WWE Return, Cody Rhodes' Next Big Feud, More Rumors
The pro wrestling rumor mill is normally hot this time of year, but it seems to be escalating to match the wicked rate of WWE events.
As the WWE calendar comes to a close in 2025, fans still have at least two major international events, Survivor Series and a pair of Saturday Night's Main Event PLEs, never mind the company's big ESPN debut with Wrestlepalooza on September 20.
Along with the drama surrounding those events, the rumor mill spits out big items this week pertaining to the usual suspects, such as backstage booking rumblings and major names potentially switching companies, to name a few.
Here's a quick look at the must-know pro wrestling rumors for the week and whether fans should buy or sell on each.
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar outcome?
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The Rumor
The John Cena and Brock Lesnar match is a tough one to predict. And right on cue, according to Bodyslam.net (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), "some disagreement" within WWE exists as to who should actually win that match.
Reaction
It's hard for those within the company to predict too, clearly. If Cena wins, he just moves on with his retirement tour and it was nothing but a speedbump. If Lesnar wins, there's an opportunity to do a very hyped rematch.
Buy or Sell?
Buy. Future planning of weekly shows and PLEs, plus booking around main-event stars and possible Cena opponents, plays a big part in this. It's not an easy decision to make and there are many, many branching paths this thing could take, all of which could be worth exploring.
Chris Jericho back to WWE?
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The Rumor
Here comes the Chris Jericho buzz. According to Wrestling Observer Radio's Dave Meltzer (h/t Ortman), there has been lots of talk within WWE about a Jericho return to the company. WrestleVotes Radio (h/t Ortman) followed that up by reporting a source expects a deal to get done.
Reaction
AEW isn't just going to let Jericho walk away without a fight. But fans have long held the belief that he would go back to WWE at some point before he officially hangs up the boots. Whether that time is now, though, is hard to say.
Buy or Sell?
Buy. WWE would be foolish not to at least explore the idea of a legend coming back home. It's hard to top the Cena retirement tour, but it truly feels inevitable.
Wrestlepalooza main events?
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The Rumor
Little has been made official about Wrestlepalooza just yet. But according to PW Insider's Mike Johnson (h/t Ortman), the PLE will feature a co-main event, with Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes joining the Cena-Lesnar affair.
Reaction
McIntyre-Rhodes sort of feels like a rehash or Raw match. But at the same time, it would be a pretty good representation of what the top of the sport is like for those casual or non-wrestling fans who happen to pop open ESPN and see WWE on their screens.
Buy or Sell?
Buy. It's a little eyebrow-raising that a woman's match wouldn't be the co-main event. Maybe they go for a "triple main-event" or "all main-events" card. Either way, it's easy to see that WWE will go buck wild with this event, given it's the ESPN debut.
NXT expanding?
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The Rumor
Will NXT join the fray of upping its exposure? According to PW Insider (h/t Ortman), NXT will up its PLE schedule, which means ramping to eight events in 2026.
Reaction
WWE is already flirting with an overexposure problem as the post-TKO merger continues to push the pace. Just the main roster appears to have multiple international shows, Saturday Night's Main Event dates and normal PLEs to close the year.
Buy or Sell?
Sell. At some point, WWE has to realize there is a thing as too much wrestling content. What's more, with the obvious desire to counterprogram AEW as much as possible, it seems reasonable to expect WWE will actually run out more main-roster stuff opposite AEW, not NXT, which many still view as the developmental branch of the programming.
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