WWE Rumor Review: Potential face turn for Roman Reigns, The Rock's in-ring return, Hell in a Cell Match on RAW

Welcome to this week's edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE Rumor Review. Here, we will take a look at a few popular rumors from a few months ago and see how they played out.

Several interesting names were in the news in the middle of June, with some of them preparing to return to WWE. The company also wanted The Rock to come back for a specific purpose later in 2021, but what was it?

Speaking of The Rock, his cousin has been on top of the mountain for a while now. Roman Reigns remains the Universal Champion and a potential character change was reportedly being discussed back in June.

So, without further ado, here is this week's WWE Rumor Review. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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#5 Samoa Joe's NXT return

Samoa Joe was one of the many names WWE released right after WrestleMania 37, but there was interest in bringing him back shortly afterward. This return saw him go back to NXT, with a couple of ideas floating around for his role there.

Dave Meltzer stated on Wrestling Observer Radio that Joe would likely step in and replace William Regal as NXT's authority figure. This came after the former general manager teased stepping down from the role at the end of NXT TakeOver: In Your House.

While Samoa Joe did not replace Regal, he did work as his enforcer. The former RAW commentator restored order on the NXT roster while building a feud with then-champion Karrion Kross.

Meltzer also mentioned that Joe returned specifically as a non-wrestler, however this turned out not to be the case as he defeated Kross to win the NXT Championship at TakeOver 36. However, The Samoan Submission Machine vacated the title a few weeks later, just ahead of the launch of NXT 2.0.

Samoa Joe then worked behind the scenes for the brand, before being released for the second time in less than a year.

#4 Spoiler on WWE booking a Hell in a Cell Match on RAW

WWE held the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view last June, with it being the final live event of the ThunderDome era. We saw two cell matches that night - one between Bianca Belair and Bayley before the main event, pitting Bobby Lashley against Drew McIntyre.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that the Hell in a Cell structure remained above the ring one night later for RAW, leading to speculation over another such match for the All-Mighty WWE Champion.

It was reported that Lashley would face Xavier Woods inside the cell and that is exactly what happened. The two partook in an entertaining Hell in a Cell Match, which served to build towards Kofi Kingston getting a world title shot at Money in the Bank.

This was not the only cell match to happen on television during that period. Roman Reigns defeated Rey Mysterio inside the structure on SmackDown, two days before Hell in a Cell. The Tribal Chief was absent for the event - the only one since his change in character.

#3 WWE's plans for Eva Marie to return with an ally

WWE confirmed Eva Marie's return to the company in May last year, airing vignettes to promote it. There was quite a bit of speculation surrounding how she would be presented, either as a heel or a babyface.

WrestleVotes reported on their Twitter handle that plans for Marie included her having a "muscle" character of some sort by her side. The two names discussed for the reported role were Mercedes Martinez and Piper Niven.

While Martinez has since been released, Niven eventually debuted on the main roster alongside the returning Eva Marie. This report was confirmed when the former NXT UK star showed up on RAW, albeit with a new name - Doudrop.

Since defeating Naomi on Marie's behalf in June, Doudrop has gone from strength to strength on RAW. She turned babyface a few months later and feuded with the former Total Divas star, even defeating her twice.

Eva Marie is no longer with WWE, but Doudrop is doing well. She recently faced Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble. While she did not win the title, the Scottish star had a strong showing.

#2 WWE hoped The Rock would wrestle at Survivor Series

WWE has seemingly been trying to get hold of The Rock for a while now, especially with the promise of an epic program with Roman Reigns. The company even had hopes that The Great One would return to the ring at Survivor Series 2021, according to a report from WrestlingNews.

As we now know, The Rock did not wrestle at the event, in fact he did not appear at all. This was quite controversial as WWE had built the entirety of Survivor Series around him and his movie Red Notice.

A giant egg was involved as well, with Vince McMahon claiming that The Brahma Bull gifted it to him. This disappointed fans, who were hoping there would be a pay-off to the excessive promotion surrounding The Rock's movie.

Had the Hollywood star wrestled at Survivor Series, it would have likely formed the base for his eventual WrestleMania match against Roman Reigns. The Rock might still show up at The Show of Shows, but not in a wrestling role; at least not this year.

#1 Plans for Roman Reigns to turn babyface

Roman Reigns is WWE's biggest star right now after returning as a heel at SummerSlam 2020. The Tribal Chief is doing the best work of his career and has broken various records.

The Universal Champion might be a villain now, but there may have been plans to turn him into a babyface. Back in June, Dave Meltzer mentioned on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE has been grooming Reigns to be the top babyface star of the company.

Since then, The Head of the Table has not hinted at a potential face turn. He does get regular positive reactions, especially when telling the fans to acknowledge him. However, Roman Reigns is still a complete heel in the ring.

His latest rivalry with Seth Rollins proved this as The Architect played the role of a pure babyface. While a babyface turn is possible in the long run for Roman Reigns, it doesn't look like it will happen any time soon.