WWE Rumors: Buzz on Road to WWE Survivor Series 2016 for Week of Oct. 13

With WWE Survivor Series 2016 approaching, talk is intensifying about what WWE fans might be set to see at one of the biggest shows of the year.

We know Goldberg is coming back, and it seems he's on a collision course with Brock Lesnar.

But what else is on the horizon? This week's rumor roundup offers a couple of clues, as well as some worrying news from NXT.

Plus, the latest on Luke Harper's return from injury and what original plans had in store for him.

In addition, there's news about John Cena's quest for world title No. 16.

Wrestlers Pulling Double Duty at Survivor Series?

The announcement from Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan this week on SmackDown about challenging Raw to a number of elimination matches at Survivor Series will have plenty of minds racing about who will take part in the contests.

With the roster now split in half, it's not unreasonable to predict that some guys are going to have to wrestle twice, particularly with some big feuds expected to continue at the show.

And Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats reported double duty will indeed be taking place for some wrestlers.

Who they are remains to be seen. With a Survivor Series elimination match for the tag division, expect teams such as Heath Slater and Rhyno and The New Day to fight twice, with their respective championship matches also happening.

There will also be singles stars in the male and female divisions doing the same.

Luke Harper Originally Set for Raw?

One of the biggest surprises and biggest pluses of No Mercy was the return of Luke Harper.

The Wyatt Family has been weaker without Harper, as has WWE as a whole. To that end, it's great to see him back from injury.

But news has emerged this week that Harper wasn't originally set to join forces with Bray Wyatt once again.

Figure Four Online (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc) noted that Harper could have been set for a move to Raw before an unfortunate injury to Erick Rowan.

That then forced WWE to draft Harper to SmackDown to take on Rowan's role in The Wyatt Family.

Whether this is good news remains to be seen. It would be fascinating to see a fully fit Wyatt Family in the future, perhaps allowing Harper and Rowan to have a run in the tag division.

But for now, it's just great to see Harper back, irrespective of the show he's competing on.

News on John Cena's Next Hiatus

Defeat to AJ Styles at No Mercy knocked back John Cena's chances of a 16th world title, and it seems the Cenation leader will have to wait a while longer for that record-tying championship.

Per Ortman, Cena is set for another hiatus after a show this Saturday, and he's only scheduled for Survivor Series and a Madison Square Garden house show in late December.

Interestingly, the report noted that Cena will then pick up on his quest for the elusive 16th world title when he returns, which coincides nicely with WrestleMania season.

It seems logical for WWE to deliver on such a big moment, and it should rightly wait for a big show.

Crowning Cena with Ric Flair involved at WrestleMania would make much more sense than throwing it away on a lesser pay-per-view. In this instance, WWE is right to wait. 

Hideo Itami Injured

Lastly, worrying news came from Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, who first reported an injury to one of NXT's biggest stars.

With the likes of Finn Balor and Bayley stepping up following the WWE draft, the show was thin on top talent as it was.

And news that Hideo Itami has suffered another injury, per the report, is not good news.

WWE confirmed the injury in the video above, but there's no news yet about how long he could be out with the setback. It came during a match that saw him team with Shinsuke Nakamura to take on Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli. 

Itami took a nasty bump and suffered a neck injury, according to the report, with no news yet on how long he could be out of action, although Itami promised in the video that he will be fit for NXT's show in Osaka, Japan, in December. 

Whatever the prognosis, this is not great news for NXT.