BS Meter on Oba Femi's WWE Main Roster Plan, Latest on Chris Jericho, LA Knight, More
The Royal Rumble on January 31 now looms large over the pro wrestling rumor mill.
After the rumor mill never really hit a slump in December thanks to big events and John Cena's farewell, it kicks into an even higher gear for what is arguably the second-biggest event of 2026.
Meaning, rumblings about major plans for top stars, the potential for other wrestlers to change companies and even some slowly building vibrations about a big name potentially getting promoted.
And that's just the expected stuff, as fans know the rumor mill is always good for a few curveballs, too.
In order to help fans keep pace, let's throw the most notable rumors against a BS Meter, with 10 being the highest form of unbelievable buzz fans can safely dismiss.
LA Knight wild speculation
1 of 5
The Rumor
LA Knight has been in some weird rumors lately. According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), Knight is not being repackaged and will be back for the Royal Rumble.
Reaction
Fans have noticed that Knight hasn't been around much since near the start of December, so speculation started running a little bit overboard. But time off around the holidays for a top Superstar isn't all that outlandish.
BS Meter: 1
Why in the world would WWE "repackage" LA Knight into a different character? He's clearly one of the most over wrestlers on the planet with fans and due a main-title run. Maybe he doesn't win a title anytime soon, but a break away from fans for a breather could make his return even bigger.
Chris Jericho latest
2 of 5
The Rumor
Chris Jericho is by far the biggest name to watch right now when it comes to wrestlers possibly changing promotions. But according to Fightful Select (h/t Ortman), it's still not even clear if Jericho's contract with AEW is actually up.
Reaction
Speculation ran rampant over the last week or so that Jericho was headed for WWE and the Stranger Things episode of Raw, especially due to certain phrasing used by those involved. But he never showed, which makes sense: The Royal Rumble is right around the corner, after all.
BS Meter: 5
This one could go either way. It's hard to go all-in on a thing like this around contracts and company-jumping. One thing we do know? It feels super-obvious that Jericho will get some sort of farewell tour in WWE eventually. One has to think that the Royal Rumble, not an episode or Raw, is the next major point to keep an eye on for this.
Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee?
3 of 5
The Rumor
Here's a fun new one to circle in red for WrestleMania 42. According to Sapp (h/t Rajah.com's Tom Araya), while there are no concrete plans in place, there's a belief around WWE that Becky Lynch and AJ Lee will have a match at the big show.
Reaction
Talk about a dream match, all things considered. Lynch and Lee had their memorable dust-up around the time of the latter's return and CM Punk and Seth Rollins haven't exactly made nice since. Things are so personal and grounded that a match wouldn't even need to include titles.
BS Meter: 3
Easy to believe this one. If Lynch vs. Lee isn't at least on the shortlist of things penciled in as ideas for 'Mania, something is wrong with the creative process in WWE. There are two nights to the event, this is a 'Mania-level story and it would allow the next generation of women's wrestlers to spotlight in matches of their own, too.
Je'Von Evans buzz
4 of 5
The Rumor
Good news: Je'Von Evans got called up to the main roster. Bad news: It occurred on a commercial break. According to WrestleVotes (h/t Ortman), this was WWE's effort to stress that its online content can be important.
Reaction
Yikes. Evans is a huge deal and could be a future top guy. Cramming his official call-up moment into a commercial break on Raw is a rough look. That's especially true when there's no guarantee WWE actually sticks with online-exclusive content as even being a thing.
BS Meter: 1
This is, unfortunately, oh-so-WWE. Experimenting with some main-roster, top-guy happenings in this manner would make sense. But taking the wind out of the sails of a prospect's big moment is just weird. And WWE is oversaturated with programs that run too long anyway before asking fans to also peep the online stuff.
Oba Femi main roster plan
5 of 5
The Rumor
Oba Femi appears on his way to WWE's main roster. According to Sapp (h/t Ortman), Femi won, then vacated his NXT Championship so that he wouldn't need to eat a loss and look weak on his way to the main roster. WrestleVotes reported he's headed to Raw for a big spot on the program.
Reaction
The look weak stuff is always silly. Nobody should think less of a bright star like Femi because he dropped a belt on his way out of the developmental league. Alas, leaving the title in the ring after defending it one last time is a cool moment.
BS Meter: 1
Femi has "next big thing" written all over him. That got an exclamation point during his Saturday Night's Main Event loss to Cody Rhodes during John Cena's farewell event. Leaving him down in NXT any longer wouldn't make sense. The smart play would be getting him in a major WrestleMania program ASAP.
.jpg?w=600 "WWE Raw Results & Grades 🔠")
