WWE Rumors: Examining Latest Buzz Around Brock Lesnar, Beth Phoenix and More

The Beast Incarnate returned to Raw Monday night, and it was the first time Brock Lesnar has set foot inside a WWE ring since his humiliating obliteration at the hands of Goldberg at Survivor Series.

It was fitting that the former heavyweight champion in both WWE and UFC was at the center of some of this week's most significant buzz.

The WrestleMania season is upon us, so therefore Lesnar's schedule of appearances is the talk of the wrestling world. When can fans expect to see the baddest man in pro wrestling back on television and, more importantly, will he compete between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania?

Speaking of the Showcase of the Immortals, the Hall of Fame is a major part of that weekend's festivities. This week, we learned that Kurt Angle will headline the class, but which former women's champion will join him?

Finally, which Raw competitor suffered an injury during Monday's television taping?

The tangled web of pro wrestling rumors and buzz has all of your answers.

Brock Lesnar's WrestleMania Schedule

The Beast figures to play a key role in the promotion of this year's Showcase of the Immortals, just as he has for every one since 2013. As such, fans can expect to see him at several events between now and the Showcase of the Immortals. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Marc Middleton for the summary) shed some light on Lesnar's upcoming dates:

"

...as of this week, Brock Lesnar is not booked for the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view, even though Bill Goldberg is booked to appear. Lesnar's next scheduled singles match is WrestleMania 33 against Goldberg. With several RAW appearances for Lesnar booked during WrestleMania season, it will be interesting to see if they have Lesnar get in the ring on RAW.

"

Lesnar is annually one of the faces of WrestleMania. The idea that he will appear on Raw almost weekly leading into the show is not a foreign one. The fact that he will not appear at Fastlane, though, is interesting given how integral a part he played at last year's show. 

Will he not even appear for a promo or vignette to hype what should be one of the marquee matches at this year's Mania, a presumed showdown with Goldberg?

It remains to be seen, but if Meltzer's report is any indication, the month of February will see one fewer major appearance by wrestling's most prominent ass-kicker.

And the next Hall of Famer is...

Joining Kurt Angle in the WWE Hall of Fame's 2017 class will be former women's champion Beth Phoenix, as reported by PWInsider.com (h/t WrestleZone.com's Bill Pritchard).

A three-time women's champion, one-time Divas champion and arguably the best women's wrestler of her era, The Glamazon is deserving of the honor. If the report proves correct, she will join husband Adam "Edge" Copeland in the Hall of Fame, as well as recent female inductees Trish Stratus, Lita and Jacqueline.

Phoenix starred for WWE at a time when there was less emphasis on actual in-ring production from women. They were very much sideshows, a break from the testosterone that fueled WWE programming.

Unbeknownst to a company and fanbase that dismissed women at that time, Phoenix helped lay the groundwork for some of the wildly talented female performers who have ignited a women's revolution across Vince McMahon's company.

Darren Young Suffers Arm Injury

Prior to Monday's Raw, WWE taped this week's episode of Main Event. During that show, Darren Young battled Epico in singles competition. In the course of the match, he took an apron bump and inured his arm.

"Young appeared to suffer an arm injury that ended the match early," F4WOnline.com's Michael Riba reported. "It happened on the opposite side of the ring from me, but it might have happened when he was slammed into the barricade. The ref never threw up an 'X,' but the ringside doctor called it off."

In 2016, Young saw his latest attempt at singles success fail miserably, as fans refused to buy into the "Make Darren Young Great Again" gimmick that WWE Creative concocted to take advantage of president-elect Donald Trump's campaign slogan.

He has wallowed on the undercard since then, and Young recently debuted in a tag team consisting of him and Bo Dallas that is managed by the great Hall of Famer Bob Backlund.

The injury, if serious, brings an end to that chapter of his career.

After so many pushes, stops and repackaging, one has to wonder if Young still has a future as anything but an enhancement guy at this point.