After a busy week with Crown Jewel and Evolution, what's the buzz in WWE? There is lots going on when you consider Survivor Series is around the corner.
News has come to the surface regarding both John Cena and Daniel Bryan not being involved in Crown Jewel, there is some talk of what Shane McMahon's win in the World Cup Tournmanent means for WWE programming moving forward and a couple of popular female WWE Superstars may be sticking around a little longer than originally expected.
Here are the biggest rumors in WWE this week, November 3, 2018.
Shane McMahon Winning The World Cup
The big buzz coming out of Crown Jewel is that Shane McMahon won the World Cup Tournament after not competing in any of the initial rounds, only the finals. Speculation is that this is to set up a possible heel run for McMahon and that all of this will start with him bragging about winning the tournament and that he's the best in the world despite not earning the moniker.
There is also buzz going around that McMahon's World Cup win will be used to set up a SmackDown vs. Raw match at Survivor Series. Who heads up the other team is uncertain right now, but it could be Dolph Ziggler or The Miz if he's fired and moved to Raw as was hinted during the show.
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Trish and Lita Sticking Around
There is also buzz that Trish Stratus and Lita might not be leaving WWE right away. They returned for a match at Evolution and then showed up again the following night on Raw in a 10-woman tag match. Trish has said she wants that singles match with Alexa Bliss that was originally planned and word is the women will work a tag match at WrestleMania 35.
This goes hand-in-hand with the rumors that women’s tag team titles will be introduced in the near future. If so, it makes sense that WWE would be finding competent duos to compete for those titles. There is no word on how often they'll appear on weekly programming.
RELATED: Trish Stratus Still Wants A Match With Alexa Bliss After Last-Second Evolution Match Change
John Cena Dominos
It appears John Cena pulling out of Crown Jewel affected more than just Bobby Lashley being placed into the tournament. Speculation is the WWE World Cup tournament bracket was changed after Cena bailed because the original plans were to mix the brands, and that a Cena vs. Rey Mysterio first round match was scheduled to take place. Further speculation is that Mysterio would win which was a huge push for Mysterio's comeback.
That Cena didn't appear also hurt Lashley in that he was added to the tournament but lost in convincing fashion in the first round. The concern is that this may have damaged his recent push as one of the top-level heels on Raw.
Related: Randy Orton Takes Shot At John Cena For Pulling Out Of Crown Jewel
Lesnar Winning Is Already An Issue
There is already concern backstage that having Lesnar win the Universal Title is going to open up WWE to more criticism They blew a great chance to put the title on Braun Strowman and Lesnar's first match as champion will be a non-title defense against AJ Styles. This means Lesnar will be holding onto the belt for at least a month and there is no word on whether or not he'll be on WWE programming to promote the championship.
It appears unclear if this was a quick decision made to give Lesnar the title back because original plans seemed to be for Roman Reigns to retain the belt until he was forced to withdraw.
Related: Why Brock Lesnar Beat Braun Strowman At Crown Jewel: Best Theories
Daniel Bryan's Interesting Week
Obviously, Daniel Bryan was not at Crown Jewel, but it appears there is no heat on him by WWE. Speculation is that he was never interested in going to Crown Jewel because he felt the treatment of his good friend Sami Zayn was racist in its motivation and he had issues with how the Saudi Arabia government looked at homosexuals. When the controversy of the murder of an American got added, that was enough for Bryan to pull away.
The finish to his match with AJ Styles was the same one that would have happened at Crown Jewel and this was not punishment by WWE for not appearing on the card. That said, he may not be in the WWE Title scene for the remainder of 2018.
NEXT: SmackDown Live Winners & Losers: Bryan Officially Off Crown Jewel