Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Naomi Speaks About Pregnancy
After confirming on Monday night the rumors that she is pregnant, Naomi spoke in detail about finding out she was going to have a baby with her husband and WWE superstar Jimmy Uso.
Appearing on a bonus episode of the What’s Your Story podcast with Stephanie McMahon, Naomi revealed she found out she was pregnant on Aug. 11 and is about seven weeks along.
Naomi also explained on the show she has had fertility issues in the past and wasn’t sure if it would be possible for her to get pregnant. She had been scheduled to defend the women’s world title against Iyo Sky on the Aug. 11 episode of Raw, but WWE announced prior to the show that she was not medically cleared to compete.
Naomi addressed her situation on last night’s episode of Raw, vacating the world title but not before issuing a warning to the other women on the roster that they had nine months to get ready before she returned to get her championship.
Michael Cole said on commentary that there would be more information about the next steps for the women’s world title on the Aug. 26 episode of Raw. Naomi had been scheduled to defend the crown against Stephanie Vaquer at Clash in Paris.
Naomi won the title by pinning Sky in the main event of Evolution after cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase. She successfully defended it against Sky and Rhea Ripley at SummerSlam.
WWE Officials Undecided on Cena-Lesnar Winner
With WWE reportedly planning the John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar match for a premium live event on Sept. 20, there is still some uncertainty about who will win the encounter.
Per BodySlam.net (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), there is currently “some disagreement” among WWE officials about whether it should be Cena or Lesnar who goes over in the match.
WWE has not officially announced the Cena-Lesnar bout, nor has it been confirmed there will be a Sept. 20 premium live event, but there will presumably word coming out on both fronts soon.
There is also speculation that the event will air on ESPN, per PW Insider (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News). If the show takes place on Sept. 20, it would be going head-to-head with AEW’s All Out pay-per-view.
The match is going to happen since Lesnar returned to WWE for the first time in two years at the end of SummerSlam when he hit Cena with an F5 after the 17-time world champion lost the undisputed WWE title to Cody Rhodes.
Given how long Lesnar has been gone, it would make sense to put him over and potentially set him up for a program with Rhodes for the title if that’s a direction WWE is looking at.
Cena doesn’t need the wins at this point, though he will get some before his final match in December. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he beats Logan Paul at Clash in Paris, for example.
There is really no wrong answer in this case because both Cena and Lesnar have their spot as main-event stars solidified that neither one will be negatively impacted by a loss.
Ultimately, this decision could come down to how aggressively WWE wants to push Lesnar now that he is back on television. If he’s challenging for the title any time soon, he should be the one to go over. If WWE wants to hold off on that for the time being, Cena winning in what will presumably be the last encounter between the two would make sense.
Latest on Chris Jericho’s Contract, WWE Interest
Having been off AEW television since April, Chris Jericho’s future is becoming a hot topic of speculation.
On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlePurists), Dave Meltzer noted Jericho’s deal with AEW expires at the end of this year and there has been “lots of talk” within WWE about a potential reunion with the future Hall of Famer.
Jericho, who is known for stoking the flames online, is certainly playing up the chatter by liking a recent Instagram post that said he would be open to a WWE return.
Jericho hasn’t been on AEW television since the April 9 episode of Dynamite when he blamed Big Bill and Bryan Keith for his loss to Bandido at Dynasty. The storyline was done to give him time off for a tour with Fozzy, but the tour has been over since May.
With some exceptions, history has shown that Tony Khan won’t use stars he thinks are leaving when their contracts expire. This could also be a case where he and Jericho are also waiting for the right opportunity and storyline to bring him back.
Jericho is also someone who likes to keep things as fresh as possible, which was part of why he went to AEW in the first place. Returning to WWE for potentially the final phase of his career could also be a way of reinventing himself once again.
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