BS Meter on WWE Stars to AEW Rumors, Backstage Raw Drama, Cody Rhodes' Heel Turn, More

It's blink-and-miss-it season on the pro wrestling rumor mill. 

Sure, the WWE calendar might not have anything major in the PLE department and WrestleMania season isn't exactly close. 

But recent weeks on the rumor mill have been spot on with major items like the New Level in AEW, Bronson Reed's return and so much more. 

It feels like the mill is trying to one-up itself by the week, too. This time out, we've got major buzz on Cody Rhodes, company-hopping speculation for wrestlers and major upcoming plans, to name a few things. 

To help fans keep up with the wild rumor mill, let's place the must-know rumors on the BS Meter, with 10 being the highest form of unbelievable buzz fans can safely dismiss.

Cody Rhodes heel plans

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The Rumor

Is Cody Rhodes finally a bad guy? Maybe not. According to WrestleVotes (h/t Geno Mrosko of Cageside Seats), vicious actions by Rhodes against Randy Orton recently are not a sign of things to come for him as a heel.

Reaction

Rhodes certainly hinted at some heelish things during his match with Orton at Sunday Night's Main Event. And it's not even close to the first time he's hinted at making a full-blown turn. 

BS Meter: 5

Call it 50-50. Rhodes pretty infamously didn't seem to want to go heel in AEW. But his WWE run has had plenty of hints at doing just that. Maybe they're really slow-burning it this time and will save the full turn for an even bigger event. Might as well invest in the long-term story some more at this point, right?

Bayley WWE-AEW buzz

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The Rumor

So much for Bayley going to AEW. According to Fightful (h/t Mrosko), Bayley's recent WWE return doesn't necessarily mean that AEW is giving up hope because, prior to the return, they had hopes to make a play for her in free agency. 

Reaction

Bayley was doing a really good job of drumming up buzz for herself by hinting at a change recently. But her return to Raw recently would seemingly shut down anything about going to AEW, for better or worse. 

BS Meter: 1

Of course AEW had an interest in Bayley for a very long list of reasons that would keep us locked here for far too long. It's hard to imagine, from a very basic business perspective, though, that she reappeared on WWE television without a new deal.

More AEW signings buzz

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The Rumor

Elsewhere on the AEW-pursuing-wrestlers front, according to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp (h/t Cain A. Knight of Cageside Seats), the promotion had talks with Kairi Sane, but it was never realistic for her to join before last month's All In. 

Reaction

The report even goes on to mention that there is "nothing imminent" on this topic. That shuts down plenty of (fair) fan sentiment that Sane going to AEW was a mere matter of time, given the fit. 

BS Meter: 1

Everything looks good here. We can't know the particulars of what Sane wants on her next deal or otherwise. But it's blatantly obvious that she's a massive international free agent who can take all the time she wants to make her pick of the many promotions undoubtedly after her. 

WWE start times update

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The Rumor

WWE has four major PLEs left and a smattering of other things. According to WrestleVotes (h/t Knight), the promotion has put Worlds Collide at 8 p.m. ET to "directly compete" with AEW's All Out. 

Reaction

No shocker here, as this is WWE habit by now. Also, of note, is Wrestle Inc's Nishant Jayaram citing the same report as 6 p.m. ET starts for Money in the Bank and Survivor Series: WarGames. Crown Jewel is set for 1 p.m. ET and WrestlePalooza, from Perth, Australia, will start at 6 a.m. ET. 

BS Meter: 1

Times always subject to change, of course. One thing that isn't? WWE insisting on acting like AEW isn't direct competition while also making sure to counter-program it. Propping up smaller brands to directly compete, too, is a very WWE thing to do, for better or worse.  

WWE and…Disney?

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The Rumor

Here comes Disney chatter. According to WrestleVotes (h/t Knight),WWE has plans to hopefully use ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando for brand awareness events, plus hopes that wrestlers can actually make it onto some sort of Disney+ programming. 

Reaction

Let this report tell it, WWE has desired a Disney connect before the ESPN deal even came together. No matter what happens with ESPN moving forward, one would presume that stance won't change. 

BS Meter: 1

Easiest buy of the week, really. Of course WWE wants to expand into as many avenues as it can, never mind one as big as Disney. We'll see how serious things get, but it's an obvious way to appeal to younger generations of would-be fans.

Oba Femi, Bronson Reed drama latest

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The Rumor

It's the most popular rumor buzzing right now: Do Oba Femi and Bronson Reed have real beef? According to WrestleVotes (h/t Knight), some backstage in WWE aren't thrilled about the interaction on Raw this past week when Femi reacted violently to Reed putting a boot on him at the end of a segment. 

Reaction

Talk about storyline-bait. WWE is as scripted as it gets these days, so it's hard to imagine this was unplanned. Either way, there's now a blurred-lines effect perplexing fans as the foundation for a great main-event feud has been set. 

BS Meter: 10

Come on. Even if this wasn't planned, WWE has a million different ways to frame this and make it fun (Oba was using his last gasp of fight to stop the disrespect!). Any random number of people backstage could have been "surprised" by the events. It's a money start to a feud, regardless, and no doubt WWE knows it.