Welcome to today's edition of the WWE Rumor Roundup, where we try and bring you the best updates of the day. With WWE WrestleMania Backlash done and dusted, we are now heading towards Hell In A Cell.
In today's roundup, we have Charlotte Flair busting CM Punk's Vince McMahon rumor, Roman Reigns making bold claims about himself and more.
Before we get to them, let's get past the headline-makers of the day:
Vince McMahon ends WWE RAW Superstar's push
Vince McMahon has reportedly decided to end Humberto Carrillo's push. The WWE RAW Superstar was touted to challenge Sheamus for the United States Championship soon, but plans seem to have changed.
Humberto Carrillo faced Sheamus on WWE RAW last week, but the match ended early because of an injury. The Mexican star injured himself while attempting a sunset flip powerbomb, and the referee signaled for the bell.
Reports after RAW suggested Humberto Carrillo was "okay" backstage, and he even tweeted he was not done with Sheamus. The tweet read:
"Last night was the first time I couldn't finish a match in my whole wrestling career, but when you push the limits as I do anything can happen in a split of second. This is not over @WWESheamus .... untill next time! #WWERaw"
However, this week on WWE RAW, Ricochet was the one who challenged Sheamus. The absence of Humberto Carrillo saw fans worried about his situation, but the report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider cleared that it was just Vince McMahon's decision to use someone else:
"For those who asked why there was no update on Humberto Carrillo, the decision was made to focus on the Ricochet stuff. Much like Mansoor being forgotten a week after he debuted, the decision was made to focus on something else."
Ricochet seems to be the chosen one to replace Humberto Carrillo in the storyline for now. WWE RAW needs a big storyline to keep fans glued as the show has had a drastic fall in ratings recently.
The WWE Universe has been highly vocal about the lack of quality in the show, and the company may be hoping that this Ricochet for Humberto Carrillo change can help things.
WWE star Charlotte Flair busts CM Punk's Vince McMahon rumor
CM Punk took a dig at Vince McMahon last week and referenced a long-running rumor that the WWE Chairman talks in the headphones of the commentators. The former WWE Champion tweeted a reply to Charlotte Flair's photo and said:
"GODDAMNIT PAL WATCH THE MONITORS AND STOP SAYING WRESTLING PAL"
Charlotte Flair has dismissed these rumors and claimed Vince McMahon was not talking in her ears. The former WWE RAW Women's Champion was talking to Hindustan Times when she said:
"No one is buzzing me in my ear. I have known Byron Saxton and Corey Graves for a very long time. It was just great to be out there with them, feeling as confident as ever. No, Vince doesn't buzz me in my ear about anything."
CM Punk used to do commentary once in a while during his time in WWE. The former champion claimed on Oral Sessions that he muted Vince McMahon as the WWE Chairman used to yell a lot. Jerry 'The King' Lawler helped him reduce the volume on the headset, but surprisingly Vince McMahon did not call CM Punk out for it.
Dream booking for Brock Lesnar on his WWE return?
Bobby Lashley has always insisted he wants to take on Brock Lesnar in the WWE ring. The All Mighty claimed he returned to the company just to get in the ring with the Beast Incarnate. Now might be the time for that match to take place.
Booker T said on his Hall of Famer podcast that Brock Lesnar returning at SummerSlam and facing off with Bobby Lashley would be "money." He added that Brock would only return if Lashley is in a totally dominant situation. He said:
"Brock Lesnar showing up and hearing that music, and Paul Heyman's there by his side, just that picture right there is worth the price of admission. I remember working Big Show and John Cena in the Champion of Champions match. Nobody thought I was going to win that match. If there was money in Vegas on that match, I don't think too many people had odds on Booker T walking out that match the Champion of Champions. For Bobby Lashley to be in a match somewhere like that, Champion of Champions match, and then actually winning it in a dominant fashion, MVP cutting a great promo on the world as far as Bobby Lashley being The All Mighty, and then the music (Brock Lesnar's) hits. That right there, I get goosebumps, something like that I can buy into, that's money."
Bobby Lashley managed to beat Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman at WWE WrestleMania Backlash last Sunday to retain his WWE Championship.
Names of the zombies at WWE WrestleMania Backlash
WWE WrestleMania Backlash saw zombies at ringside as the lumberjacks for the match between Damian Priest and The Miz. The Lumberjack match was used to promote the upcoming movie 'The Army Of The Dead' that features Batista.
WrestlingNews have now got the list of wrestlers who played the role of zombies in the match. Their report read:
"It turns out that the person Booker T was referring to was former WWE star Scotty 2 Hotty, who currently works as a coach at the Performance Center and as a live event producer for NXT. The names include Chance Barrow, Joe Ariola, Bronson Rechsteiner, Drew Kasper, Joe Gacy, Jacob Kasper, Asher Hale, Ari Sterline, August Grey, Ikemen Jiro, Jake Atlas, and Xyon Quinn."
Batista himself was not too pleased with the use of zombies as Lumberjacks to promote his movie. He hit out at a fan who tweeted his displease at promoting the film at WrestleMania Backlash.
The majority of the WWE Universe was unhappy with the match, and the reaction to it on social media was negative.
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns makes bold claim
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has boldly claimed that he does not need stunts or gimmicks to be better than the rest. The SmackDown star quote tweeted WWE's question to the WWE Universe and added that he could do it even without the fans in the arena.
Roman Reigns managed to beat Cesaro at WWE WrestleMania Backlash and, after the pay-per-view, sent a message on his Twitter:
"I don't need stunts or gimmicks. I am every bit of this art form. 30 min inside the ropes.. No crowd, no problem. Head and shoulders above everyone else and that's being generous!! THEE MAIN EVENT. #TakeItFromMe"
Roman Reigns' current reign as the WWE Universal Champion has been his best as he has beaten the likes of Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan and Edge. We are yet to find out who will be challenging The Tribal Chief next, but we should get our answers on SmackDown this Friday.
With Jimmy Uso returning and not joining hands with Roman Reigns, could he be the next challenger?