Buy or Sell John Cena Tournament Bracket Details, Triple H Booking Style, More Rumors
Call November noisy as the pro wrestling rumor mill continues to heat up during the plummeting winter temperatures, primarily thanks to WWE.
There, John Cena's retirement tour continues to ramp up as his career winds down, thanks to the tournament that will decide his final opponent. Talk about a way to swing the door open on a tidal wave of rumors and buzz about possible outcomes and finales.
Beyond the big Cena stuff, the rumor mill has much to say about possible Royal Rumble happenings not all that far off in the future, plus standard-fare items like the contract status of major stars and other highlight-worthy notes.
To help fans keep pace with the fast-rising bits of buzz making the rounds, here's a look at the most notable and whether they should buy or sell on each.
Royal Rumble surprises?
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The Rumor
According to Bryan Alvarez at F4Wonline (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), fans shouldn't expect big shockers during the Royal Rumble, since it takes place in Saudi Arabia. The location could make it hard for WWE to get those surprises to the show unseen.
Reaction
WWE hasn't seemed to struggle with doing surprises at shows in Saudi Arabia in past years, so it's hard to imagine one of next year's landmark events and a key date building toward WrestleMania will be any different. Heck, it's impossible to imagine a Royal Rumble without any surprises.
Buy or Sell?
Biggest sell of the week. Where there's a will, there's a way, and other such cliches. The location of the 2026 Royal Rumble might make things tougher to hide, but WWE has plenty of ways to make it work.
AEW stars in John Cena's tournament?
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The Rumor
WWE wants fans to think AEW stars could appear in John Cena's Last Time is Now tournament. So says Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez (h/t Ortman), who point out that Cena's used very purposeful language to keep the hints alive.
Reaction
Talk about a win-win for WWE. Might as well lean into online theories/suggestions that Edge should be his final opponent. Why not keep things as open as possible to embrace fan theories? Heck, it keeps the door open if something unexpected behind the scenes actually opens up or comes together, too.
Buy or Sell?
Buy. There's no reason not to do this. It's just smart promotional business. If an AEW wrestler shows up while still under contract with the rival promotion or not, it's just a nice gesture to Cena and fans. If not, it's going to be hard to complain too much because fans understand the business and there are so many other great WWE-only wrestlers to put in the tournament.
WWE pumps brakes on John Cena's Last Time is Now tournament bracket
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The Rumor
In line with keeping things as secretive as possible, WWE doesn't want to reveal the entire Cena tournament bracket just yet. According to Meltzer (h/t Ortman), the company didn't reveal the whole bracket because of planned surprises.
Reaction
Just great business. Fans will be glued to screens to see what those surprises might end up being. And again, it gives WWE a little wiggle room if something comes together behind the scenes.
Buy or Sell?
Buy. No sense in locking in a bracket if there are possible changes that could still happen. And this isn't March Madness. It's not worth risking fans skip out on any matches along the way because outcomes are spoiled and/or surprises ruined.
Drew McIntyre's WWE contract update
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The Rumor
Drew McIntyre's WWE contract was a hot topic for months on end. According to Fightful Select (h/t Ortman), that can finally stop: McIntyre's new deal lasts until the 2028 edition of WrestleMania, at a minimum.
Reaction
The writeup also mentions that McIntyre is making "millions of dollars per year" on the new deal. That certainly meshes with his constant status near the very top of the main event scene, which recently included yet another title bout with Cody Rhodes.
Buy or Sell?
Buy. No point in speculating too much on the official end date. But McIntyre has been a top guy since he carried the audience-less COVID era on his back. It makes it easier to buy, too, that he felt like a serious threat to leave, given his time in other promotions already, so WWE likely paid up big to prevent that, too.
Bianca Belair injury buzz
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The Rumor
The waiting game on Bianca Belair continues. According to Bodyslam.net (h/t Ortman), WWE believes "in the early stages" of 2026 is the return timeline for Belair, if not earlier.
Reaction
One would think that even if Belair was approaching readiness by the end of the year, WWE might hold off until around the time of something major like the Royal Rumble while building for WrestleMania. At this point, she's been out since April and her return is a really, really big deal.
Buy or Sell?
Buy. Past reporting from Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) said Belair suffered a broken knuckle during WrestleMania 41. Nothing about WWE's handling of this and the leaks suggest purposeful leaks to hide surprises. Expect Belair back in early 2026 as a major part of the 'Mania plans.
Triple H closely watching internet reactions?
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The Rumor
Here's a fun fan theory with some horsepower behind it. According to Vince Russo (h/t Ortman), at least one WWE talent says Triple H cares deeply about the internet reactions and his reputation with fans online.
Reaction
Triple H probably doesn't want to be disliked, sure. And WWE undoubtedly watches internet reactions to some degree, even if some of the booking decisions sometimes vibe like they only look at live-crowd reactions.
Buy or Sell?
Sell. Triple H and Co. obviously pay attention. But caring deeply about their reputations with fans is a different thing entirely. Perhaps it comes off this way because his predecessor in creative, Vince McMahon, so blatantly outright didn't care about how fans felt? Triple H overcompensating in the other direction would be bad, but it would probably be too obvious (think, major LA Knight pushes, not-botched John Cena retirement tours, etc.) too.
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