Buying or Selling Roman Reigns Return Date, Tama Tonga Reaction, More WWE, AEW Rumors

A dramatic time of change for WWE means the pro wrestling rumor mill remains arguably as hot as it has ever been.

This new post-Roman Reigns era has created massive waves of change. Cody Rhodes is champion, but there's chaos within the Bloodline itself, spurred on by a new apparent leader and brand new debuts to WWE, too.

That's hardly all, either. WWE has elected to attempt to capitalize on NFL draft season, holding its own draft soon. That means speculation about where Superstars such as Rhodes might get drafted and to which brands—meaning Raw, SmackDown or even NXT.

Said rumor mill even contains rumors about when Reigns himself might return to WWE programming, too.

If it sounds like a lot to keep up with...it is. Here's a look at the hottest rumors and buying or selling on each.

For now, it seems, Tama Tonga is the newest member of the Bloodline.

And while WWE audiences weren't necessarily familiar with Tonga despite his impressive body of work in other promotions, those behind the debut were pleased with how fans responded.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), WWE was "most pleased" with the reaction considering much of Tonga's exposure to fans occurred overseas before his debut.

It's certainly hard to complain about the reception, too. Anything new to the Bloodline was sure to thrill fans and Tonga has them instantly captivated because, beyond his look, he's working with a Solo Sikoa who is very clearly not aligned with Reigns himself.

Verdict: Buying

Draft season for the WWE means it is once again time for those seemingly annual rumors about the company wanting to make NXT an official third brand on par with Raw and SmackDown.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Ortman), the push will be an attempt to make NXT a "true" third brand via drafting Superstars from the other promotions to it.

But as is the case every time this one pops up, this is a massive sell.

NXT is never going to be a "true" third brand. It's firmly ingrained as a "developmental" brand in the minds of fans—and there's nothing wrong with that. WWE never goes all-in on this idea by drafting big-name Superstars to the brand, anyway, and it won't stop referring to NXT Superstars going to the other two brands as getting "called up," either.

Besides, NXT being a full-blown third brand that casual fans need to keep up with would be overexposure and simply too much product, which could create more bad than good.

Verdict: Selling

Observant fans noticed that a recent Cody Rhodes promo involving Jey Uso was seemingly hinting at plans for the future in terms of roster placement.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Ortman) has followed up on that, reporting that Rhodes' promo was meant to endorse Jey as the top dog on Raw before the champion himself remains on SmackDown.

It feels like a no-brainer and the easiest buy of the month. Rhodes won the title that belonged on the blue brand and there's zero reason for that to change as his new story just gets started.

That's especially the case with Raw so well-balanced right now. Uso is a fun babyface to have around, but it sure doesn't hurt to counteract SmackDown having Rhodes with a potentially soon-returning CM Punk feuding with Drew McIntyre—before any other draft additions.

Verdict: Buying

All of this compelling action featuring Sikoa, Tonga and the Bloodline doesn't necessarily mean Reigns will be on television soon.

According to WrestleVotes (h/t Ortman), Reigns will be off programming "for an indefinite period of time" and Wrestle Ops has also noted that the only episode of television advertising Reigns is the SmackDown before SummerSlam in early August.

Beyond the Bloodline happenings, there has been little reason to think Reigns' presence would increase now that he doesn't hold the promotion's top title. It had been obvious that he was going to take some time off regardless, so it's not shocking to hear it suggested that he won't be back until the summer.

That said, Reigns' advertised before the second biggest event of the year seems like a formality and it doesn't prohibit him from making other appearances before then, either.

Verdict: Buying

The analysis of television ratings for both WWE and AEW has become an increasingly (annoying, some would say) fixture of discourse around the sport.

But that might be about to change in an interesting way.

According to Meltzer (h/t Ortman), Peacock no longer worries itself with "live audience" numbers for PLEs. Instead, the focus is on the view count for the entire 24-hour window.

And thank goodness for that. With WWE doing so many international events per year now—and so many fans around the globe wanting to see the biggest events—it only makes sense to evolve in how one analyzes viewership.

It's a welcome, easy buy. WWE isn't an NFL game that relies on in-the-moment viewers. And modernizing in this manner can only help the business, as WWE could be free to have each PLE as its own revenue stream.

Verdict: Buying

It felt like a matter of time before a Bray Wyatt-themed stable popped up around Bo Dallas and others.

Erick Rowan, naturally, has always been a staple of those theories from fans.

According to Meltzer (h/t Ortman), "the belief is" that Rowan is indeed headed back to WWE to be part of a stable with Dallas.

This lines up with recent speculation around Rowan's future after his appearances in AEW and the Wyatt-esque programming interruptions that have been happening during episodes of Raw and SmackDown lately.

While it feels like this will be a slow burn, if the payoff is Rowan and some of the other members of the Wyatt-releated groups coming together again, fans will probably just be happy to see it happen at all.

Verdict: Buying