WWE Rumors on Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk and Survivor Series | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Lesnar WWE Return Reportedly Scheduled for Royal Rumble

Brock Lesnar has been absent from WWE programming since losing to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam in August, but plans are reportedly in place for his return in the not-too-distant future.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), The Beast Incarnate is due back at the Royal Rumble premium live event on January 27.

The 46-year-old has been a part-time Superstar ever since returning to WWE in 2012, and the company has typically saved him for its biggest events.

While Lesnar is usually part of the shows in Saudi Arabia, he was not on the Crown Jewel card last weekend, and it doesn’t seem as though he will be at Survivor Series in Chicago later this month either.

The Royal Rumble is, arguably, WWE’s second-biggest event, though, and his presence would make it feel like the Road to WrestleMania is officially underway.

Prior to taking time off, Lesnar was feuding with Rhodes, and their rivalry ended at SummerSlam when The American Nightmare won their three-match series.

The Beast surprisingly hugged Cody afterward, which was seemingly WWE’s way of cementing a face turn for him.

It is unclear if the two-time Royal Rumble winner will be part of the men’s Rumble match or involved with something else, but the return of Lesnar would give WWE another major chip to use during WrestleMania 40 season.

Cena Reportedly Requires Surgery After Latest WWE Stint

John Cena seemingly ended his most recent run with WWE at Crown Jewel last weekend, and he reportedly took a beating despite wrestling only a handful of matches over the past couple of months.

According to Meltzer (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), the 16-time world champion is set to undergo surgery on both of his elbows, thus ending his current stint with WWE and possibly paving the way for him to return to Hollywood now that the SAG-AFTRA and writers strikes are over.

Cena lost to Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39 earlier this year, and after taking about five months away, he returned at the start of September.

The 46-year-old served as the host of the Payback premium live event and went on to wrestle at both Fastlane and Crown Jewel in addition to working a few dark matches.

After Cena teamed with LA Knight to beat Bloodline members Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso at Fastlane, he took on Sikoa in a singles bout at Crown Jewel.

Cena noted that he hadn’t won a televised singles bout in over 2,000 days and vowed to end the drought, but Solo shockingly dominated him, hitting him with multiple Samoan Spikes en route to victory.

Meltzer noted that while it isn’t definitively known what the future holds for Cena in WWE, he expects him to possibly return for a match at WrestleMania 40 in April and possibly a few other televised appearances, but not much beyond that.

Given how the veteran’s match against Sikoa played out in Saudi Arabia, it would make sense for them to have a rematch at WrestleMania, only for Cena to come out on top.

Cena’s body has taken a beating over the years, and he may not be able to do as much as he once did from an in-ring perspective, but he still brings a ton of value to the table for WWE due to his star power.

Orton Reportedly Set to Return Ahead of Survivor Series

WWE is reportedly planning some huge additions to the announced men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Upton), WWE has been planning for months to add Drew McIntyre and a returning Randy Orton to the match.

As of now, the team of world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso is set to face The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest, Finn Bálor, Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh, but WarGames is typically five-on-five.

McIntyre lost to Rollins at Crown Jewel, and if he teams with The Judgment Day, it would seem to indicate that The Scottish Warrior is turning heel.

As for Orton, he has been out of action since May 2022 with a back injury, and as one of the most decorated Superstars in WWE history, his return will be a huge deal.

While it might typically be wise to let The Viper’s return be a surprise that occurs on the night of Survivor Series, Fightful reported that WWE plans to announce it ahead of time to avoid getting fans’ hopes up about a potential CM Punk return.

Punk was released by All Elite Wrestling in September, and there have been rumors and speculation regarding him going back to WWE and appearing at Survivor Series since it is in his hometown of Chicago.

It remains possible Punk could resurface in WWE at some point, but Meltzer (h/t Upton) reported that the company has rejected his interest and isn’t pursuing him as of right now.

While Punk’s hometown fans may be disappointed to not see him, a returning Orton would be a strong consolation prize.

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