WWE Rumors: Examining Latest Buzz Around Hulk Hogan, Adam Rose and More

Amid controversy over his recently leaked racially charged statements, WWE has done its best to erase the memory of Hulk Hogan. The many ways the company continues to distance itself from the Hall of Famer are dominating the wrestling rumor mill. 

It's hard for a guy like Adam Rose to make much noise at this rate. He's trying his best, though, as he looks to get fans talking about a possible gimmick change.

Rose's potential transformation, how Vince McMahon views Tough Enough and the latest rumblings about SmackDown comprise the biggest non-Hogan WWE rumors making their way around the Internet.

While The Hulkster struggles with the wrong kind of publicity, Rose has to be hoping to climb out of obscurity. 

Gimmick Change for Adam Rose? 

After the recent E:60 special on NXT and WWE, many believed a push was coming for Rose. Fans saw his compelling real-life story at play, one that generated ample sympathy. His previous alter ego, Leo Kruger, was on full display as well.

Rumors of Rose's adopting that gimmick again have been steady since, but there's been little movement in that direction.

He did ditch his Rosebuds and grew darker, but there's been no indication that he would be fully reverting back to the Kruger character. Still, it remains a topic among fans. Rose himself has managed to stir up that conversation in a major way.

A recent tweet showed him as Kruger, with the caption being one of his old signature lines:

Is this supposed to indicate that we should be saying "ta ta" to the Rose gimmick? Is this a preview of a coming change, or is Rose just trying to drum up interest in himself?

WWE has shown scarce interest in promoting and utilizing Rose. Even after the buzz created with ESPN's E:60 special, the company has mostly left him on the sidelines. That seems to point to this latest rumor-creating stunt as Rose's attempt to pull a Zack Ryder and earn momentum via social media rather than wait for WWE to give it to him.

Word on Vince McMahon and Tough Enough

It looks as if you can start calling Tough Enough WWE's "B" show and move SmackDown to maybe the "C" slot. McMahon has reportedly been ditching recent tapings to man the ship at the reality show.

PWInsider (h/t Wrestling Inc) reported that McMahon has skipped every SmackDown taping since the reality show's season premiere so that he can be in Orlando, Florida, in person. The reports also noted that the chairman and producer Kevin Dunn have made Tough Enough a priority.

Low ratings have hampered the revamped series. As noted by James Caldwell for Pro Wrestling Torch, the second and fourth weeks of Tough Enough garnered just 0.73 and 0.74 ratings, respectively. The following week saw a bump up to the 0.85 mark, which should certainly please McMahon.

Perhaps McMahon feels that Tough Enough needs him to resuscitate it, while SmackDown is doing well enough so as not to need his presence.

Still, it's strange to think that McMahon would worry so much about what is essentially a side product. That is until one reads the latest word on SmackDown.

Backstage Notes on SmackDown Moving Networks

Don't expect WWE to pour its heart into SmackDown. At least not until January 2016.

That's when the Thursday-night serial moves from Syfy to the USA Network. 

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc), SmackDown is thought of as a lame-duck show until it makes the move to the USA Network. The report also noted that there has been talk of having SmackDown debut on the new network as a live special on a Tuesday night.

Credit: WWE.com

It's not as if SmackDown was getting tons of love before this reported lame-duck status, but if officials see things that way, the show will likely be treated as an afterthought. Why work to boost the ratings now when a deal with another company has already been made?

Perhaps SmackDown will be revitalized by the move.  That would be a refreshing change.

It's been years since it's been a must-watch show.

Hogan Rumors

By now, it's common knowledge that WWE has ousted Hogan as Tough Enough host, terminated his contract and expunged him from its official website. That's reportedly not it when it comes to the de-Hoganing process.

On Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t PWMania.com), Dave Meltzer said that WWE had yet to come to a decision about whether to keep Hogan in the Hall of Fame. 

That institution, though, is not exactly filled with choir boys. Should the company remove Hogan from his spot there, folks are going to be asking why a convicted rapist like Mike Tyson is still in, for example.

An animated version of Hogan is poised to be removed as well. PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported that Hogan was set to appear in the sequel to the WWE-Scooby Doo project alongside Dusty Rhodes. One would assume that this portion of the movie will be cut or heavily edited. Johnson also noted, "The Hogan sequence in the WWE Studios Celebrity Death Pool film is said to literally be the opening sequence of the film, so it looks as if that will absolutely have to be reworked as well."

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

As for who will take Hogan's spot on McMahon's beloved reality show, an old rival of Hogan's is reportedly in line to step up.

Bryan Alvarez noted on F4WOnline (h/t Wrestle Zone) that Ric Flair is being considered as the new Tough Enough judge, as is The Miz, Mick Foley and Chris Jericho. Flair is also being discussed as a possible replacement for Hogan as General Manager during the Australian tour later this year. 

While Flair is no stranger to controversy himself, his transgressions suddenly seem tame compared to what has made Hogan persona non grata.

The Nature Boy is famous, respected, charismatic and knows a hell of a lot about the business. With all that in mind, he's a smart replacement. However, it would be a bit unexpected to go with a guy known to be more than a bit unpredictable for a live TV show.