BS Meter on Updated WWE Royal Rumble Match Card, Gunther's WrestleMania 42 Plan, More

If pro wrestling fans can't see the rumor mill slowing down, they would be 100 percent correct. 

At a time of year the buzz around pro wrestling cools off around the holidays, John Cena's final goodbye to the sport has upended that in a massive way.

Controversy around the finish to Cena's tap at the hands of Gunther is a historical exclamation point for the rumor mill. It tacks on to the expected WrestleMania 42 rumors, Royal Rumble buzz and other items to form a fast-paced barrage of information.

In order to help fans busy with real-life holiday matters, let's toss the most notable rumors against a BS Meter, with 10 being the highest form of unbelievable buzz fans can safely dismiss.

Cody Rhodes' big moment

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The Rumor

Cody Rhodes went viral for his reaction to Cena's last match. According to Fightful Select (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), his interview and actions around the ring in the aftermath "were not planned beforehand."

Reaction

Rhodes gave a heartfelt interview after Cena's match and it felt organic enough. But it's hard to imagine any interview at all was suddenly thrown together in the moment. One or both of the champions (the other being CM Punk) sticking around to pay homage was almost a given well before the match actually took place. 

BS Meter: 10

By far the most unbelievable buzz of the week. Maybe the month. Rhodes, as the kids say, likes to aura farm. Just look at the perfect position of his title in the background while he stands ringside looking at Cena's attire in the middle of the ring. Whether it's setting him up to go after Gunther or something else, nothing this picturesque is unplanned. 

Gunther, Bron Breakker plans?

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The Rumor

What's next for the next big things, Gunther and Bron Breakker? According to Self Made Pro (h/t Ortman), WWE originally had Breakker penciled in to fight Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42. Plans have since shifted Gunther into that spot. 

Reaction

One has to think Seth Rollins' injury played into this somewhere. Breakker is now in the spotlight and seems headed for a collision with CM Punk. Gunther, meanwhile, has been retiring legends left and right. 

BS Meter: 1

Easy enough to accept. It's hard to see how WWE could quickly swerve Breakker away from what he's doing and into a feud with Lesnar. Some of this might hinge on Lesnar's future plans, too. Is he retiring soon? Gunther going after him in the hopes of retiring another legend would be a fun story. 

WWE's reaction to Cena backlash

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The Rumor

Not everyone loved Cena tapping out to Gunther, to say the least. But according to Wrestling Observer Radio's Dave Meltzer (h/t Ortman), WWE was "completely blindsided" by the negative reactions to the moment. 

Reaction

It's hard to imagine WWE is "completely blindsided" by pretty much anything. It's the nature of the beast they oversee. No matter what they did, Cena's final match wouldn't go over well with all audiences. 

BS Meter: 5

This one is…somewhat believable? One could see the decision-makers not understanding why fans in the crowd didn't eventually start applauding Cena's decision to tap out, perhaps. But the "never give up" legend tapping out will always be a sour point for plenty of fans, no matter how Cena himself and others want to talk about it in hindsight. 

Royal Rumble details

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The Rumor

January's Royal Rumble from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is on pace to be a mere four-match card, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Ortman). According to WrestleVotes from the same writeup, it will start at 10 p.m. local time, meaning 2 p.m. ET. 

Reaction

The men's and women's rumble matches always take around the 30-minute mark, if not more. That doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for other matches if the event really starts that late, local time. 

BS Meter: 1

Barring a complete misunderstanding of the start time, this run time for the show makes sense. WWE has been hovering around the three-hour mark or even less for PLEs, thankfully. Two rumble matches, plus two possible title matches would make for a nice card to really kickstart 'Mania season. 

John Cena documentary on the way?

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The Rumor

Ready for the post-retirement John Cena media barrage? According to Wrestlevotes (h/t Tom Araya of Rajah), a documentary about Cena's in-ring retirement is already in the works. 

Reaction

Per the writeup, WWE had the documentary crews at the Saturday Night's Main Event to capture all of the footage before and after Cena's controversial tapping out at the hands of Gunther. 

BS Meter: 1

Of course WWE was getting each and every angle of the GOAT's retirement match. The only real question, as highlighted in the report, is whether these documentary filmmakers were at every stop on the retirement tour or if this was exclusively for the last match. Either way, whatever WWE gives fans is going to be must-watch material.