WWE Rumors on Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, WrestleMania 42, Hobbs and Gabe Kidd

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Reported Plans for Reigns, Rhodes, McIntyre at WrestleMania 42

WWE is reportedly moving forward with plans for Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to feud over the WWE Championship leading up to and at WrestleMania 42, leaving Roman Reigns to do something else.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlePurists), WWE is discussing doing either McIntyre vs. Rhodes or McIntyre vs. Rhodes vs. Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania.

Meanwhile, Reigns is reportedly set to return at the Royal Rumble premium live event later this month, and his WrestleMania plans are expected to come into focus at that show.

Per Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists), the plan to have McIntyre beat Rhodes for the WWE title in a Three Stages of Hell match last week on SmackDown was made within 48 hours of the match happening.

Rhodes reportedly brought up the notion that he would provide more value chasing the WWE Championship rather than holding it into WrestleMania, while WWE head of creative Triple H reportedly felt doing Rhodes vs. Reigns at WrestleMania for the third time in four years would lead to audience fatigue.

It was also reported by Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists) that both Rhodes and McIntyre pushed for the idea of McIntyre winning the title due to the belief that it would freshen things up on the road to WrestleMania.

On last week's SmackDown, Rhodes vs. McIntyre came down to a steel cage match, and Fatu returned during the latter stages after missing multiple months due to injury.

Fatu initially stopped McIntyre from escaping the cage, but when Rhodes intervened, Fatu attacked him too, and McIntyre escaped to win the title.

Adding Fatu to the mix would elevate him to a main event level and ensure that the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania is something that hasn't been seen before.

As for Reigns, it isn't yet clear what plans are in place for him, but given his history with CM Punk, a match against him for the World Heavyweight Championship could be an option.

Reported Details on Powerhouse Hobbs' Contract Situation

It has reportedly long been anticipated that Powerhouse Hobbs would make the move from AEW to WWE.

According to Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists), WWE sources said "for months" that they expected Hobbs to join WWE following the expiration of his AEW contract on Jan. 15.

Meltzer added that while AEW attempted to re-sign Hobbs, he was not interested in a new deal with the company.

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp was the first to report Wednesday that Hobbs' AEW contract was expiring, and WWE sources expected him to jump ship.

Hobbs, 34, signed with AEW in 2020 following a lengthy run on the independent scene. He went on to become a one-time TNT champion and one-time AEW world trios champion.

He had memorable rivalries and matches against multiple big names in AEW, including CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Wardlow and "Hangman" Adam Page.

On Wednesday, Hobbs competed in what was likely his final AEW match. In a bout taped to air Saturday on Collision, the team of Hobbs, Joe and Katsuyori Shibata dropped the trios titles to Page and JetSpeed.

If Hobbs' deal with AEW did indeed expire on Thursday, it would mean he is free and clear to appear on WWE programming at any time. A surprise appearance in the men's Royal Rumble match later this month would be a sensible spot for his debut.

WWE Reportedly Interested in Signing Gabe Kidd

WWE is reportedly among the wrestling promotions registering interest in New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Gabe Kidd.

According to Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists), "everyone likely has interest" in Kidd, including WWE.

Meltzer (h/t Luke Thompson of 411Mania.com) reported last week that Kidd's NJPW contract is "probably" up at the end of January, although that is not a certainty.

Kidd, 28, has held the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, Strong Openweight Championship and Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship one time each during his tenure at NJPW from 2020 to present.

While the Brit is best known for his work in New Japan, he has also made numerous appearances in AEW due to the working relationship between the two companies.

Over the past few years, that partnership has seemingly aided AEW in signing many of New Japan's top stars when they hit free agency, including Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada.

WWE faces a similar obstacle when it comes to Kidd since signing with AEW would likely allow Kidd to continue making periodic New Japan appearances as well.