WWE Rumors: Buzz on Road to WWE Royal Rumble 2016 for Week of Jan. 8

Injuries dominate the latest rumors doing the rounds in WWE this week.

Whether it's speculation about another top star picking up an injury or recoveries concerning the ones who are confirmed as being ruled out, there's plenty to discuss in the weekly instalment of this week's rumors section.

Here's the latest talk and buzz as WWE continues on its road toward the Royal Rumble later this month.

Another Huge Injury for WWE

As if John Cena's shoulder injury weren't bad enough for WWE to contend with ahead of the Royal Rumble, rumors are circulating that another top star has suffered an injury.

Sasha Banks hasn't been seen on TV yet this year, which made a few people raise their eyebrows, as they are concerned something might have happened to The Boss.

And true enough, per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Lords of Pain), it seems that she's the latest to join the injured roster. 

Banks seemed overdue for a shot at the Divas Championship in the coming months too, with WrestleMania probably the ideal backdrop to win the title, which is something fans have been wanting to see for months.

But if the report about her injury is true, it means another shuffle of the plans and another rethink for WWE Creative.

Things just don't seem to get any better in terms of roster depth at the moment—at exactly the wrong time of year.

John Cena's Recovery Time

As mentioned above, the company was rocked this past week when news emerged that John Cena has been forced to undergo shoulder surgery.

He's already been operated on, and the road to recovery has begun. It looks highly unlikely Cena will make the biggest show of the year, though, with backstage updates starting to emerge online about when the Cenation leader will be able to step into a ring and compete again.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Lords of Pain) noted that the normal recovery time for a shoulder injury of the nature Cena suffered is around six months, which knocks him out of the running for WrestleMania 32.

Don't forget, though, Cena has made speedy recoveries from injury layoffs in the past.

Whatever happens, this is a major blow for WWE. Losing Seth Rollins and Cesaro is bad enough, but ahead of WrestleMania season kicking off, losing such a huge name will be difficult for the company to recover from.

It's not necessarily in a wrestling sense where Cena will be dramatically missed but more in a business capacity. He's the biggest face of WWE and is all over television promoting the company. Without a match to push for WrestleMania, Cena may not have the same draw in promoting WrestleMania.

Here's hoping he's back sooner rather than later.

More New Japan Stars Headed to WWE?

The wrestling world has been abuzz this week with talk that AJ Styles and a number of other top stars from New Japan Pro Wrestling are headed for WWE.

Since that initial news broke at the start of the week, there's now further talk that other top stars are on the way to the promotion from NJPW, too.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Lords of Pain) noted NXT champion Finn Balor has suggested and subsequently recruited Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga to WWE, too.

It's stressed in the report that both those two and Rocky Romero, another linked with a move to WWE, have not given their notice to NJPW. 

Whether they join the list that includes names such as Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura remains to be seen.