THIS WEEK IN THE WWE

ORIGINAL ROMAN REIGNS PLANS, RONDA ROUSEY LEAVING? JOHN CENA'S FUTURE, MORE

WWE originally had some surprising WrestleMania 35 plans for Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Ringside News), Rousey had been penciled in to face Natalya at WWE's biggest event of the year before those plans changed:

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter said that WWE’s initial intentions for Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35 was for her to face her friend Natalya. However, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch got hurt, but another big event also factored into this change. After Jim Neidhart’s passing, the decision was made for Natalya not to turn on Rousey, however, this change of plans apparently canceled far more than just a heel turn. It was noted that several people backstage continued to pull for Natalya’s heel turn anyway, but this obviously did not chance Vince McMahon’s mind. Therefore, the initial plans were for Ronda Rousey and Natalya to be featured in the women’s main event of WrestleMania this year.

It's also noted by the Observer (h/t Ringside News) that "everyone knows Rousey is not a lifer. Her life story is to do things for a cycle and then move on."

WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?

Due to a wide variety of circumstances, WrestleMania 35 plans for Rousey appear to have changed on multiple occasions.

The Raw Women's Champion was once slated to take on Charlotte Flair in the show's first-ever all female main event, but that has likely been scrapped because it already happened at Survivor Series and could potentially take place once more before WrestleMania 35. Given that WWE has also done Rousey vs. Natalya (in a stellar match that was surprisingly called in the ring, nonetheless), it seems extremely unlikely that WWE would do the bout again, especially considering that Rousey vs. Natalya on the grand stage of WrestleMania doesn't have the same ring to it that Rousey vs. Flair or Becky Lynch does.

It will be interesting to see exactly what WWE chooses to do with Rousey, however, as WWE will want to make the most out of its biggest draw because she has an uncertain future with the company. Although Rousey reportedly signed a "multi-year" deal with WWE, she has let it be known that she wants to start a family in the near future, which could throw a wrench into any long-term plans she has in pro wrestling. Because that's the case, rest assured that WWE will want to get as much out of Rousey as it can while she's still around, which means she is likely going to have a much bigger match than a bout with Natalya at WrestleMania 35.

At this point, it's a safe bet that Rousey will take on Lynch and/or Flair in a match that could be a massive draw for the show and is worthy of being the first ever women's match to close out WrestleMania 35.

WHAT WAS EXPECTED TO MAIN EVENT WRESTLEMANIA 35 BEFORE ROMAN REIGNS' CANCER DIAGNOSIS?

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

Prior to Roman Reigns' tragic leukemia diagnosis, "The Big Dog" was expected to main event WrestleMania for the fifth consecutive year.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t SEScoops), Reigns was likely to face Dean Ambrose in the headlining match at WrestleMania 35, but that spot is now expected to go to Rousey vs. Becky Lynch:

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is slated to take on Becky Lynch. This is the plan as of this week and a decision regarding if it will serve as the main event won’t likely be decided until the show gets closer. There’s always a chance that this will be turned into a Triple Threat match to include Charlotte Flair.

Also, the original plan was not for Rousey to be in the main event but rather was saved for Roman Reigns who was going to get the headliner role on the show but that changed when he got his leukemia diagnosis. The belief is that his opponent at Mania would have been Dean Ambrose. Also, having Ambrose turn heel would have probably been on Reigns and not Seth Rollins.

WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?

Reigns' unfortunate cancer battle resulted in WWE throwing all of its WrestleMania 35 plans "out the window," which at one point may have resulted in Reigns battling The Rock in the show's main event.

With Reigns no longer factored into any future creative plans and questions remaining about whether he will ever wrestle again, WWE has moved forward with Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose as the biggest feud in the men's division on Raw. That rivalry has been wildly disappointing; however, which has resulted in speculation that WWE may scale back on Rollins' push and go ahead with Lynch vs. Rousey as the WrestleMania 35 main event. In terms of the WWE Network subscriber count, what show will close out WrestleMania will have very little effect in that regard as nowadays it is the WWE brand, rather than one particular star or match, that sells the show.

However, WWE should roll with the hot hand, and that's Rousey vs. Lynch, a dream match in the making that has more buzz and excitement surrounding it than anything else currently going on in WWE. While Reigns vs. Ambrose or even a triple threat match also involving Reigns could have been a potentially epic WrestleMania 35 main event, the absence of Reigns, who likely would have headlined the show again, should result in a deserving act going on at last at WWE's most important show of the year.

That honor should indeed belong to Lynch and Rousey, the two hottest acts in WWE, unless someone else catches fire and is able to surpass them in popularity in the near future.

PLANS FOR THE RETURN OF JOHN CENA

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

John Cena's return to WWE may not last very long.

WWE revealed on this week's Raw that "The Champ" would be returning to both Raw and SmackDown early next year (he was announced for SmackDown next week), but according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Ringside News), Cena's filming schedule could prevent him from working the Royal Rumble pay-per-view:

He starts the movie January 20th so that pretty much takes him out of the Royal Rumble so if he’s not in the Royal Rumble then he has no ticket or direction for [WrestleMania].”

The Toronto Sun reports that "Cena begins shooting a new movie on Jan. 20 in Vancouver."

WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?

Although Cena recently said that he wouldn't be returning to TV and would just be working a slew of live events, he has been advertised for Raw TV tapings on both Jan. 7 and Jan. 14.

Thus, it appears that either Cena didn't know he would be back on Raw or SmackDown due to some type of miscommunication, or there was a change in plans that caused Vince McMahon to bring him back to TV. Of course, with Raw recently hitting an all-time viewership low for two straight weeks, it stands to reason that McMahon only recently decided that Cena would be a part of its programming for the buildup to the Royal Rumble. Where he fits into creative plans, however, is unclear.

While Cena has consistently been one of the top betting favorites to win the 2019 Royal Rumble match, there have been no reports or real indications that he'd be challenging for either the WWE or Universal title at WrestleMania 35. Perhaps that means that Cena will only be on TV for the build to the Royal Rumble but will not appear at the pay-per-view itself, especially after he recently revealed that he is unable to wrestle while filming.

Given WWE's recent habit of having Cena compete in big matches on TV with very little, if any, build to them, we could see a handful of Cena dream matches over the next several weeks in an effort to boost WWE's slumping TV ratings.

NEWS ON THE PUSHES OF FINN BALOR AND DREW MCINTYRE

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

Two Raw stars are in line for big pushes.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Cageside Seats), Finn Balor is currently getting a strong push while Drew McIntyre is expected to get one early next year:

On the subject of Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor’s rumored pushes, Wrestling Observer Radio said WWE is focusing on Finn this month and Drew next month.

WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR WWE?

Balor has been surprisingly getting a substantial push in December, when he's picked up notable victories over McIntyre at TLC, Dolph Ziggler on Raw and both stars in a triple threat match just this past week.

WWE's No. 4 merchandise seller, Balor is widely considered to be one of WWE's most underutilized stars, and it's encouraging to see him be featured prominently on Raw in the absence of Reigns and with Braun Strowman dealing with an injury. Given WWE's shaky history of booking Balor, however, it's hard to envision that push being sustained, with the expectation being that he will once again find himself on the backburner come WrestleMania time. The best that fans can likely hope for is Balor stepping up to face Ambrose for the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania 35, as he doesn't seem like a strong candidate to win the Royal Rumble or become Universal Champion in the near future.

McIntyre, on the other hand, seems poised to have an even bigger year in 2019 than he did in 2018, despite a recent string of questionable losses. "The Scottish Psychopath" remains one of the betting favorites to win the 2019 Royal Rumble and could be in line for a Universal title match at WrestleMania 35, likely against Strowman but perhaps against Lesnar. No secret here: McIntyre has all the tools to be a world champion and the top guy on Raw, so he'd be a fantastic choice to win the Royal Rumble and leave WrestleMania as Raw's top champion.

However, after McIntyre has recently been a victim of some bad booking, WWE better turn things around quickly before it's too late.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

• This week's Raw, which was pre-taped and aired on Christmas Eve, averaged just 1.775 million viewers, making it easily the least watched episode in the show's 25-year history. No surprise there.
• SmackDown also suffered a big drop of roughly 300,000 viewers and averaged 1.904 million viewers for the Christmas Day episode, just the second time the blue brand has topped Raw in viewership since the blue brand moved to Tuesday nights.
• Kurt Angle indicated that he will be retiring soon, so there may not be many more dream matches left for the former WWE Champion.
• Despite WWE running vignettes promoting his return to Raw, Sami Zayn said that he is "not even close" to returning, which means WWE may have jumped the gun in that regard.
• After being announced and then scrapped, Asuka vs. Becky Lynch could still take place at Royal Rumble, but WWE is apparently in the process of making several changes to the card.
• According to Cageside Seats, "WWE is expected to load up its January episodes of television, both on Raw and SmackDown," a sensible move given the recent viewership struggles for both shows.
• WWE officially announced the creation of women's tag team titles, which may show up at the 2019 Royal Rumble.
• WWE apparently has big plans for Mandy Rose, who could be in line for a sizable push on SmackDown.
• The upstart All Elite Wrestling promotion reportedly rejected an offer to buy Impact Wrestling, a potential blockbuster move that would have had long-term ramifications on the entire pro wrestling industry.
• Although WWE's Madison Square Garden live event could have held as much as 20,000 fans, there were apparently less than 12,000 fans in attendance, which was seen as a major disappointment and resulted in one of the least attended MSG house shows in "recent memory."
• Dolph Ziggler may be taking an extended hiatus from WWE soon to focus on outside projects and could be written off TV as soon as this week.
• Braun Strowman noted that he was able to work out his shoulders for the first time in two months, suggesting he is nearing a return and will be ready for his Royal Rumble match against Brock Lesnar.
• Bray Wyatt returned to in-ring action at a WWE live event, lending credence to reports that he is nearing a TV return.