Source: WWE.com
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins Still Planned for WrestleMania
Despite Seth Rollins’ failure to beat Kevin Owens on Monday’s episode of Raw, he won’t be without a match at WrestleMania 38.
On Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Michael Perry of Ringside News), Dave Meltzer said Cody Rhodes is coming to WWE and will be wrestling Rollins at the biggest show of the year barring any last-minute changes.
WWE has been going with the storyline that Rollins doesn’t have a match at WrestleMania despite the event taking place over two nights and history showing that every top star gets on the card.
Meltzer did note that WWE could just be saving Rhodes’ appearance as a surprise for the night of the show.
It seems odd to not promote a match featuring one of WWE’s top stars and someone like Rhodes, whose star has risen considerably since he left the company in 2016.
But the cards for both nights of WrestleMania are loaded already. The audience that will be in attendance at AT&T Stadium is going to expect Rhodes, unless WWE changes plans, so the pop for his presumed return should be huge when it happens.
Elias Reportedly Getting a Makeover
WWE could be bringing back Elias with a new gimmick and name.
Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t Sai Mohan of Wrestling Inc.), WWE has been filming new vignettes for Elias with the possibility that he could return to Raw with an all-new character.
Elias hasn’t been seen on television since August when a vignette aired showing him burning his guitar, signaling that version of his character was being written off.
WWE is in the habit of changing up its characters right now. WALTER switched his name to Gunter in January on an episode of NXT. Pete Dunne made his main roster debut last week on Friday Night SmackDown with the name Butch in a stable with Ridge Holland and Sheamus.
Even though Elias was never put in a main-event position, Vince McMahon always seemed to be high on the character because of who he was allowed to work with. He debuted on the main roster in 2017 with the guitar-playing gimmick.
Elias had an in-ring segment with John Cena at WrestleMania 34. He had a singles match with Rollins at Money in the Bank 2018.
The last time Elias worked a match was on the July 19 episode of Raw. He lost to Jaxson Ryker in a Symphony of Destruction match.
Raw Superstars to be Featured on NXT 2.0
The addition of Dolph Ziggler to the NXT 2.0 roster in recent weeks isn’t going to be an anomaly.
Per Meltzer (h/t Perry), WWE’s current strategy is to “have a star from Raw on the show almost every week and to plug that on Monday to build to Tuesday.”
Prior to Ziggler’s arrival on NXT 2.0, AJ Styles wrestled a match with Grayson Waller on the developmental brand in January.
WWE announced on Monday’s episode of Raw that this week’s NXT 2.0 will feature a Miz TV segment with Ziggler.
Ziggler won the NXT Championship last week when he pinned Tommaso Ciampa in a Triple Threat match that also included Bron Breakker.
Since Breakker was the champion but lost his title without being pinned, Tuesday’s Miz TV with Ziggler will most likely be used to set up a singles championship match for NXT Stand and Deliver on April 2.
WWE’s decision to overhaul NXT into a pure developmental brand earlier this year has made it difficult for the show to maintain its television ratings from what it previously was, but at least there seems to be a concerted effort to build up young talent for the future of the main roster.
One easy way to combat the declining ratings is by bringing in stars from Raw to help elevate the young wrestlers on NXT 2.0. It’s a smart strategy that has worked well from an entertainment perspective thus far.
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