WWE Rumors: Examining Latest Buzz Around Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and More

The march toward a No Mercy pay-per-view on September 24 that is shaping up to be a mini-WrestleMania of sorts has the WWE rumor mill buzzing.

On Monday's Raw, John Cena and Roman Reigns engaged in a personal, controversial contract signing that saw them hurl insults at each other. Exactly how much did each Superstar know what the other was going to say?

Conspicuous in his absence Monday night was Samoa Joe, who was a central figure in Cena and Reigns' initial encounter a week ago. Where was he during the August 28 broadcast, and could former tag team champion Xavier Woods have suffered a similar fate to The Destroyer?

How Scripted Was John Cena and Roman Reigns' Raw Promo?

According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, for all the shoot-like comments Cena and Reigns made over the course of their No Mercy contract signing Monday night, it was heavily scripted and agreed-to by both Superstars.

"The Roman Reigns/Cena verbal battle, which was almost completely scripted ahead of time and the key wording was mostly from the writing team and not anyone coming up with unapproved wording..."

Given how vital Reigns and Cena are to the overall health of the WWE, it only makes sense management would want to script the promo to their liking.

It worked. 

Even with the forethought, the internet bit, buzzing about the perceived insults the company's top stars threw back and forth. The company understood the tone of its audience, knew what it wanted to hear, and delivered.

The result? Increased buzz for a WrestleMania-worthy main event.

Samoa Joe Injured

Samoa Joe did not appear on Monday's Raw, and it appears we now know why.

Meltzer reports Joe was injured during a live event this past weekend.

"The injury was suffered most likely at a Saturday night house show in Jonesboro, Arkansas, where he faced Cena. Joe missed both the Sunday night house show in Tupelo, Mississippi, causing the card to be rearranged, as well as not being able to wrestle on tonight's Raw."

If accurate, the injury comes at a majorly disappointing time for Joe. He began building momentum for himself as a top star on Raw this summer, battling the likes of Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman in high-profile bouts.

A knee injury that takes him away from television not only slows his momentum but keeps him off what is developing into a blockbuster No Mercy pay-per-view.

Hopefully, he can come back in relatively short order and resume his destructive path on Monday nights.

Xavier Woods Also Injured

WrestlingInc.com reports Xavier Woods appeared to have badly injured his knee during Monday night's live event in Arkansas.

Citing correspondents in the arena for the event, the site stated, "the injury came when Woods went for a jumping DDT and apparently pushed off the wrong way. The knee buckled, and Woods went down. The referee threw up the dreaded "X" symbol to call the match, and one of the Uso brothers then rolled Kofi Kingston up for a quick finish."

Woods has long been the underrated member of New Day and only recently began working television matches on a regular basis. His contributions to the Battleground match against The Usos were essential to the overall quality of that bout.

If the injury is serious, like Joe, it is a massive disappointment for a Superstar finally gaining momentum for himself.