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WWE Rumors: United Kingdom Championship, Samoa Joe, Kenny Omega, Kyle O’Reilly

By Kris Holt
Published on: 04:56 PST, Jan 15, 2017

No matter the time of day or day of the week, there are always a ton of WWE rumors for fans to dissect and gossip about, and we’ve got some of the juiciest, more recent rumors to break down for you right here.

The WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament that is taking place this weekend might be the launching pad for other regional championships for the company. WWE rumors suggest the company is looking to launch similar tournaments to create champions for Asia and Latin America as it attempts to expand its fan bases in those regions.

The UK Championship tournament wraps up Sunday with the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and finals, with quarter-final matches including Tyler Bate vs. Jordan Devlin, Trent Seven vs. Wolfgang, Pete Dunne vs. Sam Gradwell, and Mark Andrews vs. Joseph Conners.

Former two-time NXT champion Samoa Joe is said to be on his way to the main roster imminently. The Samoan Submission Machine had only one match at the most recent NXT tapings and while he is still featuring in house show main events, he does not seem to be involved in a storyline in NXT at present. That could point to Joe spinning his wheels until it’s time for him to move onto Raw or SmackDown Live, perhaps with a debut at the 2017 Royal Rumble.

When he does make the transition to the main roster, he’s expected to be handed a monster push, according to Cageside Seats. That might include a major match at WrestleMania 33. Given that plans seem to be up in the air for the event beyond the reportedly locked-down Seth Rollins vs. Triple H and Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal matches, there are some high-profile opponents awaiting Joe. The long-rumored Undertaker vs. John Cena match appears to be off, and with Joe and Cena sharing a long-time friendship (they got their start together back in the day), that could be the direction Vince McMahon heads in with Joe at WrestleMania 33.

Elsewhere, Kenny Omega has been a red-hot topic in the WWE rumors over the last couple of weeks. The New Japan Pro Wrestling star is seemingly on Triple H’s radar as someone he is interested in bringing to WWE, but Omega apparently wants to stay in Japan.

Those hopes might be up in the air though, with suggestions that NJPW has not given the Bullet Club leader any assurances about moving back into the IWGP Heavyweight Championship picture this year. The company has offered him a two-year deal but it’s not clear as yet whether he’s decided to sign it.

It finally seems former Ring of Honor champion Kyle O’Reilly is headed to WWE. He’s been in talks with the company, according to recent WWE rumors, and while it’s expected he’ll go there, he hasn’t signed a contract. He also appears to be finished up with his ROH obligations.

His reDRAgon tag team partner Bobby Fish might be joining him in WWE. Although Fish recently re-signed with ROH, that was apparently only a per-event deal, and it’s possible he could end up moving to WWE with O’Reilly.

In NXT, it seems that a litany of Superstars are set to get new gimmicks in an effort to better connect with audiences. Among them are TM-61, Wesley Blake, Buddy Murphy, Steve Cutler, Aliyah, Riddick Moss, Tino Sabatelli, and Dan Matha.

The wrestling gossip landscape extends beyond the borders of WWE rumors, and Lucha Underground is set to hibernate until summer after airing its season 3 mid-season finale last week. The show’s producers apparently decided on the hiatus after determining season 4 will not shoot until 2018, and instead of having an entire year without airing new content, thought it better to have two slightly shorter breaks between episodes.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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