Backstage WWE Rumors: Latest on All Elite Wrestling, Kevin Owens and More

The new year brought with it an announcement that may well change the wrestling landscape forever as Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks officially announced All Elite Wrestling in the latest edition of the "Being the Elite" web series.

The formation of a new promotion immediately sparked rumors across the internet, some pertaining directly to WWE.

What were they, and if valid, how may they affect the industry and Vince McMahon's sports entertainment empire?

All Elite Wrestling Dominates Rumor Mill

Rajah.com, which has exclusively reported on All Elite Wrestling since Tuesday's official announcement, revealed the promotion will feature Jim Ross and Chris Jericho in prominent roles both behind the scenes and on-air.

In regards to Ross, the site reported, "Ross is likely not commenting on this situation because technically he is still under contract to WWE for a few more months. JR and WWE will not be renewing their contract so you can expect that once he is officially out, his involvement will be publicized."

In the same report, the site suggests Jericho's role will be "in depth as well."

Goldberg is also mentioned as a name the promotion is interested in, thanks in large part to his connection to sports agent Barry Bloom, who will play a recruiting role with the company.

The report finished with an exclamation point by suggesting, "There are other WWE employees/contractors (note, this does not necessarily mean wrestlers) who AEW is going to pursue aggressively when they are legally able to."

There is a lot to dive into here.

Ross and Jericho are highly recognizable faces from wrestling's hottest period, the Attitude Era. Fans who may have stopped watching the sport in recent years know who they are and will be aware of their significance to the history of the business. Those fans looking for an alternative to WWE will look at AEW, see those two legendary figures involved and immediately think, "What's going on over here?"

That bodes well for the promotion. Attracting non-fans and the disenfranchised is exactly the strategy to take. Ditto the potential for Goldberg's involvement and any of the other non-wrestling, highly visible clients of Bloom's.

The most interesting element of the report is the company's targeting employees of WWE who do not necessarily work in front of the cameras but play key roles behind the scenes. Those men and women understand the industry, know how it works and recognize what must be done to run a successful wrestling product.

Even without knowing names, it appears as though Rhodes, the Bucks and owner Tony Khan recognize the need for an all-star team if AEW is to provide adequate competition or even a worthwhile alternative.

WWE Trying to Trademark Halloween Havoc

Halloween Havoc was one of WCW's most beloved pay-per-view events, and now WWE is attempting to trademark the name, according to Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats.

They have yet to have success in doing so, the report continued.

We have already seen WWE produce Starrcade, a glorified house show recorded for WWE Network purposes. Given the manner in which the company has routinely downplayed any WCW creation since purchasing the company in 2001, it makes sense it would try to trademark the event to keep it out of the hands of any potential competitors and use it for another WWE Network special.

With that said, the pay-per-view always had a great ambiance and atmosphere, with cool stage designs and graphics. While the likelihood any of those would return is low, one can hope WWE would do something special with the show rather than letting it become as bland and stale as some of its other presentations.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Updates

Ortman also reported Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will not be back on WWE programming at least until Royal Rumble, where they could be surprise entrants into the namesake match.

WWE released video packages hyping the returns of both Superstars on the night of the McMahon family's shake-up announcement, but no update on their comebacks has been offered. Perhaps management recognized that announcing their return would diminish the impact of a surprise.

Maybe they have zero plans for them as of now and opted to scale back the videos.

Whatever the case, a surprise return in the Rumble is the best use of each of them until the writing team has plans for them.