WWE Rumors: Examining Latest Buzz Around Dean Ambrose, Mojo Rawley and More

A former WWE champion could be on his way to the shelf for the foreseeable future. An Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal could be in line for a substantial midcard push thanks, in part, to strong off-screen promos, and the Mixed Match Challenge was very nearly different from what was announced earlier this week.

So says the WWE rumor mill.

Dean Ambrose Injured

The Ambrose Asylum may be missing its figurehead for a bit if a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio proves correct.

According to Meltzer, Ambrose is suffering from a genuine elbow injury.

If that is the case, the angle that went down on the December 18 episode of Raw—which saw The Lunatic Fringe hurt during the Six-Man Tag Team match also involving Seth Rollins, Jason Jordan, The Bar and Samoa Joe—may have been executed to remove him from television.

The assault he suffered at the hands of Joe in the backstage area only adds fuel to the proverbial fire.

The loss of Ambrose would be another major disappointment in a string of them during what was meant to be the grandiose reunion of The Shield. 

First, Roman Reigns was hit with a case of the mumps, which he confirmed on the debut episode of Corey Grave's new WWE Network show, Straight to the Source.

That led to Kurt Angle and Triple H filling in for The Big Dog during his absence and halted the momentum the trio had going for them. Now, with the possibility of Ambrose missing time, one must wonder what the point of carrying on The Shield reunion is at this point.

A Push for Mojo Rawley

According to Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats, Mojo Rawley may be in line for a push, thanks to his ability to talk.

"Mojo Rawley’s online promos for his match with Zack Ryder on Sunday got a ton of praise from all over the place, and could have him in-line for a mid-card push."

Rawley did a fine job of voicing his disdain for Ryder in the weeks following their breakup, including several online-exclusive promos. He showed attitude and what came across as genuine dislike for his former partner, which only helped to fuel the rivalry.

The promos, which he uploaded to Twitter, did a better job of hyping their match during Sunday's Kickoff Show than anything WWE's production team put together. It also gave him the opportunity to get his personality across in an unscripted environment, something that oftentimes suits the Superstars who take advantage of it.

Original Mixed Match Challenge Plans

Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet reports original plans for the upcoming Mixed Match Challenge called for an all-women's show. The idea was nixed and replaced with the mixed tag team tournament fans will witness beginning January 16.

It would have been interesting to see what kind of show WWE could produce using exclusively female talent. We got a taste of it with the Mae Young Classic this past fall, but that utilized talent beyond the company.

Leaning solely on the women already signed to contracts, could the company produce a show that drove enough viewers and created enough interest that it would be worth attempting? Would the storylines bleed over into Raw and SmackDown?

Would it at least be a better attempt at creating a unique brand than WWE's efforts with 205 Live?

Those are all questions that will go unanswered while the company, instead, attempts to create a show unlike any other in which men and women are presented as equals.