BS Meter on Stone Cold at WrestleMania 42, Pat McAfee, Roman Reigns Spoliers and More WWE Rumors

As expected, the pro wrestling rumor mill has hit its peak as WrestleMania 42 arrives this weekend. 

It's one of the most-packed mills to date, in no small part because of the controversial build to the 'Mania main events that now include names like Pat McAfee as WWE weaves in poor ticket sales and such into its storylines. 

McAfee, major booking plans, unexpected injuries and buzz about actual 'Mania match outcomes that will impact WWE far into the future headline the drama. 

To help fans keep up with the 'Mania pace, let's throw the biggest rumors on the BS Meter, with 10 being the highest form of unbelievable buzz fans can safely dismiss.

Pat McAfee updates

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The Rumor

Is Pat McAfee a draw or not? According to Wrestling Observer Radio's Dave Meltzer (h/t Geno Mrosko of Cageside Seats), McAfee's discount promo led to about 1,200 tickets for Night 1 being sold. Also, according to Fightful (h/t Mrosko), WWE isn't stopping talent from talking about McAfee in public in any way. 

Reaction

The McAfee promo, considering he's supposed to be a bad guy, was super strange. Why is the heel providing ticket discounts? Also, it's pretty apparent that WWE isn't stopping talent from yapping about this whole thing, mostly negatively. But…that, too, is pretty strange. 

BS Meter: 10

Bogus. We're supposed to believe that, during the final week to buy tickets, they weren't just organic ticket sales, but because of McAfee? It's a tough sell. The writeup even notes that over that same span, more Night 2 tickets were moved, which McAfee suggested fans don't buy. Tickets are moving because it's that time of year, not because of a bad meta storyline. 

Drew McIntyre status update

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The Rumor

Prior buzz suggested Drew McIntyre was scheduled for a hiatus after 'Mania. But according to Ringside (h/t Mrosko), he won't be taking time off to film the Highlander movie, as expected. 

Reaction

These rumors about McIntyre taking time off after 'Mania conveniently popped up right around the time he dropped his title to Cody Rhodes. And frankly, that always felt like a poor excuse to get the belt off him. 

BS Meter: 5

Hard to say whether McIntyre will actually take time off. His getting effectively demoted out of the main event and into a match against Jacob Fatu feels like write-off material before a hiatus. Either way, it's a shame he didn't get to keep the strap for 'Mania. 

Why Seth Rollins vs. Gunther?

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The Rumor

WWE didn't have plans for Gunther until the last second, which is stunning. Either way, according to Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp, a Rey Mysterio injury freed up Gunther, and the Bron Breakker injury freed up Rollins. 

Reaction

It's easy to draw these lines without a report, really. Breakker might even be healthy by now, for all we know, but WWE doesn't want to do such a major feud with Rollins sans major television build-up first. 

BS Meter: 1

The real stunner here is WWE not having a fallback plan for Gunther, the guy who retired John Cena and other major landmarks. Lucky for everyone, Gunther and Rollins are spectacular and needed just a few promos to build what is by far one of the most-anticipated matches on the card now. 

Randy Orton injury?

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The Rumor

Orton vs. Cody Rhodes isn't an easy one to figure out. And that's especially with Meltzer (h/t Rajah's Jeff Whalen) reporting that Orton is "hurting" and could need time off after 'Mania for an unspecified reason. 

Reaction

WWE latched a silly "if Orton loses, McAfee won't appear in WWE again" stipulation to the Night 1 main event for some reason. That's obviously not going to hold, so it feels like Orton will win. He's battled injuries in recent times, but WWE isn't above letting a guy who makes part-time appearances win a top title, anyway. 

BS Meter: 7

Orton has an injury history of note as he gets up there in age. But this sure feels like a conveniently timed rumor that just so happens to muddy the possible expected results of the match. McAfee isn't going to leave WWE forever, so it still feels like an Orton win. 

Steve Austin returns to 'Mania?

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The Rumor

Is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin going to get involved at 'Mania? According to Bodyslam.net (h/t Cageside Seats' Cain A. Knight), Austin will be backstage at the major event, though it's unclear if he will actually make an appearance during the show. 

Reaction

More Steve Austin is always welcome. Hard to imagine he does much more than a backstage segment if he appears on camera at all. But it would be fun to see him briefly interact with someone such as, say, Danhausen. 

BS Meter: 5

Not to get repetitive, but this sure feels like convenient timing on this rumor, too. WWE is building its main event storyline around poor ticket sales (which is real), after all. Now, there's word that Stone Cold could be there. Granted, he might be backstage at every 'Mania, but again, the mere hint that he could be part of the show would sure be a way to build hype. 

Main event expected outcome

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The Rumor

As of this writing, WrestleVotes (h/t Knight) reports that Roman Reigns is expected to take down CM Punk in the Night 2 main event. 

Reaction

The build to this one feels like it has been pretty even. There's a lot of fun history between the two, and the promos, off-screen and during broadcasts, have been fantastic in different ways. And good news for WWE: It feels like it can't really go wrong with either outcome. 

BS Meter: 5

When it comes to Reigns, throw all speculation about whether he's going to be a part-timer after 'Mania or not out the window. Doesn't really matter here. It indeed feels like a 50-50 toss-up and, down the road, it wouldn't be a shocker to find out they didn't even know who was going to win until the morning of the show itself.