WWE Rumors: Breaking Down Buzz on Road to WWE SummerSlam 2015 for Week of Aug 13

With just over a week to go until SummerSlam, the card is frantically starting to take shape. However, there are still plenty of rumors and speculation flying around concerning not only what happens at SummerSlam, but what happens beyond that.

As the second-biggest pay-per-view show of the year, WWE has to be on the money with its booking for SummerSlam to get the ball rolling ahead of what can be a lean few months for the company.

But what are the latest rumors dominating the Internet as WWE inches closer to one of its flagship shows?

The King Is Dead

After yet another failed attempt to make something out of the King of the Ring tournament, it seems as if Bad News Barrett is on the verge of a comeback.

It's fair to say King Barrett just hasn't sparkled, largely thanks to some disastrous booking in which he was somehow thrown into a feud with R-Truth, who was imitating him all the way through the rivalry.

Bad News Barrett did seem to work, and it is a gimmick that does have legs. And according to WrestleZone.com's Nick Paglino, Bad News Barrett is returning.

The gimmick made its return during a taping for Main Event, apparently for one of the segments backstage. Paglino notes it's been rumored the gimmick will return for a good while now and that WWE will be going back to the angle that earned him his biggest and best run in the past year or so.

Hopefully, WWE will be able to make something out of the Bad News Barrett idea again and the momentum he lost during his run as King Barrett won't have been too fatal. 

News on Sting's Potential Return

It seemed for all the money in the world that WWE fans were going to get another glimpse of Sting at SummerSlam after his shock defeat at WrestleMania, but it looks like we're all going to have wait a while longer to see The Icon wrestle in a WWE ring again.

With Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper set to take on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in a tag match, a bout that originally was slated for Sting to be involved in, F4WOnline (h/t Wrestling Inc) notes that Sting hasn't been used because of the star power already on the show.

With Brock Lesnar, Undertaker and even actor Stephen Amell involved, it's understood WWE made the decision to hold Sting back. After all, the following shows do generally provide a bit of a lull in entertainment, so this might be a wise move.

The article notes that the Night of Champions show—which is in Texas, where Sting lives—might be a realistic return date.

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins Set For The Long Term

It won't be lost on eagle-eyed WWE fans that Seth Rollins debuted some new merchandise last week on Raw, making a pretty clear reference to the injury he inflicted on John Cena, namely a broken nose.

Well, if that wasn't a hint enough that WWE is serious about dragging his feud with Cena out, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc) notes that numerous live shows WWE is hosting in September has Rollins vs. Cena booked as the main event, a clear indicator that it's going beyond SummerSlam.

You would expect Cena to therefore pick up the world title at some point during the feud, but a potential hint toward the immediate results of the feud can again be found in new merchandise, particularly the attire Cena himself brought out in this week's episode of Tough Enough.

Cena was sporting a new "15x" T-shirt, referring to his 15 world title victories, and if number 16 was just a few weeks away, you'd have to assume WWE wouldn't be bringing out a whole new range of merchandise related to the company's biggest moneymaker.

It's also noted that there wouldn't be much sense in having one guy holding both the United States and WWE World Heavyweight Championships at the same time, which would lean toward there being a controversial finish at SummerSlam.

But whatever happens at SummerSlam, it looks like we'll be rolling toward Night of Champions and maybe even beyond that with Cena vs. Rollins holding up the main event scene.