Today's WWE & AEW Rumors: TNA Stars Call Out WWE Stars, And Aleister Black Return Hint?
In today's WWE and AEW news and rumors rundown, did Chad Gable tease the return of Aleister Black during Monday Night Raw? Meanwhile, Joe Hendry is calling out John Cena and Jeff Hardy says he wants a match with Roman Reigns. Finally, how upset is TNA with PCO, who took a title onto a GCW and smashed it while calling out the company for not renewing his contract.
Here are your top news and rumors for January 21, 2025:
An exchange between Chad Gable and Dominik Mysterio on Monday Night Raw has fans wondering why a subtle hint was dropped regarding an Aleister Black return to WWE. Gable was asking Dom to help him "solve" his luchador problem, and Dom passed him a piece of paper. On it was either a name or a number of someone he could call and the leader of American Made said out loud that he was about to “master the dark arts of lucha libre.”
Black and Zelina Vega own the Dark Arts Gym Pro Wrestling school and the reference seemed almost too specific to be a coincidence. Speculation is that Black is leaving AEW and would like to return to WWE. If true, Gable's hint felt like uncanny timing.
Joe Hendry called out John Cena on Busted Open Radio this week. He noted, "And John Cena held up the meet and greet, phoned me from my friend's phone and talked to me for 5 minutes. He was the first wrestler I ever spoke to, and to me, I feel that's the story I need to finish, facing John Cena and why not let's do it for this [TNA] championship.” He said he believes he can hang with Cena in the ring and on the mic.
Hendry won the TNA Championship this weekend, and it is believed he's going to be the TNA star who will make an appearance at the Royal Rumble on February 1.
Jeff Hardy is hoping to get one more shot in WWE and he'd like to have a match against Roman Reigns. Speaking to the San Antonio Express-News Hardy said, “I used to say Roman Reigns, and I still have that in my head before it’s all over in my career. Roman Reigns is a big one.”
Both stars were in WWE from 2017 to 2021, but Hardy and Reigns never faced each other in a singles match or televised bout. The closest they came was in December 2021, when Hardy teamed with Drew McIntyre and Xavier Woods against Reigns and The Usos. That was the night Hardy walked out mid-match, essentially bailed on WWE, and was released days later.
Hardy is part of TNA alongside his brother Matt, and considering the two companies just signed a multi-year partnership, the chances they could exchange talents and Hardy could return to WWE is stronger than it's ever been before. He is one-half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions.
A match against Reigns seems unlikely. Not only does Reigns work a part-time schedule, but the storyline wouldn't make sense to have Reigns come back and fight Hardy. This is not to mention it's not clear how Reigns feels about Hardy after the latter walked out in the middle of a show. Reigns is a locker room leader and that likely didn't go over well.
CM Punk called out Hulk Hogan in a promo during Monday Night Raw, comments WWE cut out of their post on social media.
Former TNA star PCO has made what is believed to shoot comments about the promotion’s management following his controversial appearance at GCW's Hammerstein show. PCO smashed what appeared to be the TNA Digital Media Championship, a move that reportedly left TNA management furious. According to Fightful Select, TNA claimed that PCO had a replica title made they are in possession of the real title. He was set to lose it and finish up with the company this Thursday after his contract expired. Apparently, he was upset that his deal wasn't renewed by TNA, which caused the outburst.