Rumor Killer on WWE’s Current Plans for Gunther for Men’s Royal Rumble Match & Cody Rhodes for WrestleMania 40

As noted before, WWE has been believed to currently have plans for Gunther to potentially win the Men’s Royal Rumble match at this Saturday’s Royal Rumble 2024 event. WWE has been also believed to currently not be planning for Cody Rhodes to headline WrestleMania 40 nor “finish the story” in regards to winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the event. .

Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso recently issued a retraction on both of his recent reports stating that he discovered that he was deliberately given misinformation by his sources but is currently not sure if this is part of a larger misinformation campaign being spread through WWE itself.

“The Royal Rumble takes place on Saturday, and speculation over the event has peaked considerable interest. Though the Rumble is traditionally one of wrestling’s most entertaining nights, that is only amplified this year.

As for the winners, I don’t typically post spoilers. This is an instance where I should have followed my own practice.

I reported spoilers for Sports Illustrated yesterday regarding the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 40. I reported what was detailed to me by previously reliable sources. It appears this was a deliberate attempt at misinformation, or misinformation that is being spread through WWE itself.

I apologize for the errors in yesterday’s report. When posting these reports, the entirety of the information needs to accurate.”

In regards to the reaction within WWE over Barrasso’s original report about WrestleMania 40, WrestleVotes reported that their sources stated that the “set in stone” nature of the report regarding WWE’s plans for the event was described to be a little naive. Those spoken to reportedly also stated that WWE officials were not happy with Barrasso’s report in general especially the portion stating it as “sources close to Triple H.” It was reported that WWE CCO Paul Levesque would not be so open with this type of specific information to others.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that the reaction within WWE over Barrasso’s reports was one of surprise over the news. It was reported that WWE’s active plan for Seth Rollins for WrestleMania 40 was for him to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk should he be health enough for the event. It was also reported that the face-to-face off segment between Rhodes and Punk at this past Monday’s RAW show was meant to be a tease for a future match between the two but not at WrestleMania 40.

In regards to WWE’s current plans for Rhodes at WrestleMania 40, it was reported that one source spoken to was not able to confirm what the actual current plans are for Rhodes at the event.

In regards to Gunther, it was reported that WWE officials currently hold very high views of Gunther and see big things for him in the future but this does not involve a match with Rollins for Rollins’ title at WrestleMania 40.

It was also reported that those spoken to stated that WWE’s current creative plans for WrestleMania 40 could very well end up being altered due to Barrasso’s report presuming it had been true.