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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Rock’s WWE Return to Reportedly Coincide with Netflix Deal
WWE Raw is moving for Netflix in January 2025, and there will reportedly be plenty of star power present to kick start WWE’s flagship show on a new platform.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), The Rock, Roman Reigns and John Cena will all be back in the fold by the time Raw debuts on Netflix.
The Rock and Reigns were two of the key figures on the road to WrestleMania 40 this year, as Reigns was the undisputed WWE champion, and The Rock returned to the ring for his first true match since WrestleMania 29.
The Rock shocked the WWE Universe by turning heel and referring to himself as The Final Boss, which made for some of the most compelling WWE programming in recent memory.
Cody Rhodes and The Rock were as much rivals as Rhodes and Reigns, and it led up to a tag team match on Night 1 of WrestleMania that saw The Rock and Reigns beat Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
After Rhodes beat Reigns for the title on Night 2, The Rock appeared on Raw the next night and made it clear that he would be targeting Cody upon his return.
The Rock hasn’t been on WWE programming since then and Reigns has not appeared on TV since losing to Rhodes at WrestleMania.
Meanwhile, Cena announced last weekend at Money in the Bank that 2025 will be his last year as an active WWE Superstar, and he specifically mentioned wanting to be present wgen Raw goes to Netflix.
It sounds like WWE intends to pull out all the spots, which suggests Raw should draw a ton of viewers early in its Netflix tenure.
WWE Reportedly Putting Together Cena’s Retirement Tour Schedule
On the heels of his retirement announcement at Money in the Bank, retirement tour plans have reportedly begun in earnest for John Cena.
According to Meltzer (h/t Wrestle Features), there is a “tentative” schedule in place for Cena in 2025, and it includes some overseas dates.
The 16-time world champion made a surprise appearance at Money in the Bank to announce that 2025 would be his final year as an in-ring worker, and he provided several other particulars regarding his plan.
During his promo at MITB, Cena said he wanted to be there when Raw moves to Netflix in January, and he also said the 2025 Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania would be his last.
That led many to assume that WrestleMania 41 would be his final show, but Cena later clarified in a press conference that he intends to continue wrestling throughout 2025.
Cena also said he plans to work between 30 and 40 dates, which means he should have quite a few matches during his retirement tour.
While it is unclear who he will face, old rivals like Randy Orton and CM Punk feel like strong options, as does Cody Rhodes, who has expressed a desire to wrestle his longtime friend again.
Regardless of opponent, Cena working some shows outside of the United States would come as little surprise since he is a true global star with fans all around the world.
Vaquer Reportedly May Make WWE Debut This Weekend
After signing with WWE this week, Stephanie Vaquer reportedly may already be set to make her debut for the promotion.
According to Meltzer (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), there is a belief within WWE that Vaquer will be introduced to the WWE audience this weekend in Mexico.
WWE is running a live event at Arena CMDX in Mexico City on Saturday, followed by another at Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, on Sunday.
Vaquer is originally from Chile, but she has primarily made a name for herself in Mexico, wrestling for CMLL.
Two weeks ago, Vaquer faced Mercedes Moné at the joint AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view in a champion vs. champion match. Vaquer dropped the NJPW Strong women’s title to Mercedes in the match, but she was roundly praised for her performance.
After that, rumors surfaced that Vaquer received contract offers from both WWE and AEW, and NXT head Shawn Michaels made it official Wednesday that she had landed with WWE with the following post on X:
Shawn Michaels @ShawnMichaels
Welcome to the WWE Family, <a href=”https://twitter.com/Steph_Vaquer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Steph_Vaquer</a>. See you in Orlando! <a href=”https://t.co/cV9fBY1cSw”>pic.twitter.com/cV9fBY1cSw</a>
Vaquer has been heralded as one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world for her work in CMLL and NJPW, making her signing a major coup for WWE.
AEW has beaten out WWE for several key free agents over the past year, including Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada, but Vaquer is WWE bound despite her recent appearances on AEW programming.
All signs point toward Vaquer starting in NXT so she can get acclimated to WWE and the United States, but it shouldn’t be long before she is one of the top stars on WWE’s developmental brand.
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