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

The Rock’s Status Reportedly Up in the Air for WrestleMania 41

Amid rumors and speculation about The Rock’s status for next year’s WrestleMania 41 status, it reportedly isn’t yet known within WWE if he will be available for the show.

According to Fightful (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), sources within WWE have heard “no concrete information” regarding whether The Rock will be part of WrestleMania, but he hasn’t been ruled out.

The sources noted that long-term planning when it comes to The Rock is difficult because of how busy he is, and they added that if he decides to show up in WWE on short notice, nobody would stop him from doing so.

After competing in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 40 earlier this year, The Rock confronted Cody Rhodes on the Raw after WrestleMania. He then disappeared from WWE programming for several months before returning earlier this month.

Following Rhodes and Roman Reigns beating Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu in a tag team match at Bad Blood, The Rock made his surprise return. He didn’t cut a promo or get physically involved, but he signaled, “1, 2, 3,” with his hands before making a throat slashing motion.

That led many to speculate about a potential future Triple Threat between The Rock, Rhodes and Reigns, but Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Carrier) later reported that The Rock had “gave word” to WWE that he wouldn’t be able to compete at WrestleMania 41.

The Rock seemed to shoot that rumor down on Instagram, though, as he responded to a question about not being available for WrestleMania by writing, “Don’t believe any of that bulls–t.”

While nobody truly seems to know The Rock’s plans, it is somewhat difficult to envision him missing out on WrestleMania 41 given how heavily involved he figures to be with Reigns and Rhodes.

All three of them were a massive part of the build toward WrestleMania 40, and it would make sense for all of them to want the WWE Championship in their possession.

If The Rock truly can’t take part in WrestleMania, though, perhaps he will have a big match against Rhodes, Reigns or both at some point before the Showcase of the Immortals.

Goldberg Reportedly Not Planned for Crown Jewel Appearance

A match between world heavyweight champion Gunther and WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg may be in WWE’s future plans, but there reportedly won’t be any build toward it at Crown Jewel this weekend.

According to PWInsider.com’s Mike Johnson, Goldberg is not scheduled to be present in Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel, meaning any furthering of the story between them will take place at a later date.

Earlier this month at Bad Blood, Gunther cut a promo and called out Goldberg, who was one of several legends invited to attend the show. The Ring General was critical of Goldberg, even going so far as to suggest that he isn’t a good father.

That prompted Goldberg to jump the guardrail in an effort to confront Gunther, but security ultimately broke things up.

There was immediate speculation regarding a Gunther vs. Goldberg match, and WrestleVotes (h/t Carrier) reported that WWE does indeed have plans for Goldberg moving forward.

Taking the Gunther vs. Goldberg feud to the next level at Crown Jewel would have made sense if WWE wanted to go in that direction since Gunther has a huge match on the show.

Gunther is set to face WWE champion Cody Rhodes in a champion vs. champion match with the winner becoming the first-ever WWE Crown Jewel champion.

Goldberg costing Gunther the win would have been an ideal way to set up a match, but with other huge events on the horizon such as Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, WWE will have plenty of opportunities to take their rivalry to the next level.

Styles Denies Rumor, Says He Turned Down TNA HOF Induction

WWE Superstar AJ Styles shot down a report this week that WWE prevented him for getting inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame.

Fightful Select (h/t Carrier) reported that before settling on Rhino and Bob Ryder as inductees into the company’s Hall of Fame during Bound For Glory weekend, TNA discussed the possibility of inducting Monty Brown and Styles.

However, Fightful noted that TNA discussed wanting to induct Styles into the Hall of Fame with WWE before getting turned down.

After the report went public, Styles took to X to clarify what had happened, divulging that he was the one who turned down the TNA Hall of Fame offer, and not WWE:

Styles is a huge part of TNA’s history and undoubtedly one of the greatest wrestlers to ever step foot in a TNA ring, but he cited not wanting to enter a Hall of Fame until he is done wrestling as his reason for turning down the honor.

The Phenomenal One’s explanation makes more sense than WWE turning TNA away since the two companies have had a strong working relationship in recent months, featuring TNA wrestlers competing in NXT and vice versa.

Earlier this month, Styles returned to WWE programming and had a match against Carmelo Hayes, but he suffered an injury during match.

There was a ton of debate regarding whether the injury was storyline or legitimate, but Styles later confirmed that he suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot.

It is unclear when the 47-year-old veteran will be able to return to action, but his comments regarding the TNA Hall of Fame suggest he still plans on wrestling moving forward.

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