Buy or Sell: The Latest on AJ Styles, Saraya, Malakai Black, and More WWE and AEW Rumors Shaking Up the Wrestling World .Giang

The pro wrestling rumor mill feels supercharged in late September, even if AEW Dynamite Grand Slam just wrapped up and WWE’s Bad Blood isn’t one of the bigger annual PLEs for the company.

It helps that some of the top rumors making the rounds happen to loop in names like Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, of course.

But this week’s buzz goes beyond that and simple items like possible free-agent decisions and contract drama. WWE, after all, has some major weekly broadcast shakeups in the works and there are some big question marks around the how and why of those.

Here is a look at the most notable rumors making the rounds right now and whether fans should buy or sell each item.

Fans haven’t seen much about AJ Styles since his big feud with Cody Rhodes over the summer.

Might that be by design?

According to Fightful Select (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), Styles’ contract with WWE will hit an expiration date at some point near the end of 2024 or quickly into 2025.

Adding to that, the report also says that it remains unknown if WWE has approached Styles and what his future plans might be.

All of that feels like an easy buy at this stage. Styles arrived with WWE in 2016, so the contract terms would seem to match up and he’s 47 years old, so company and Superstar might want to evaluate things.

Given Styles’ extensive history outside of WWE, there’s always a chance he looks at options there, too. That’s not even a suggestion he could look at AEW, though he would certainly be interesting on that roster, too.

Verdict: Buying

The SmackDown runtime buzz just isn’t stopping.

On the topic of the weekly blue brand moving to a three-hour format, Wrestling Observer (h/t Ortman) reported that WWE is still in talks with USA Network about adding said third hour.

But again, this one feels like a sell in terms of it actually happening.

Raw going to three hours was ultimately a mistake. The shows, even in the Triple H era, have problems retaining viewers and keeping things interesting for such a long run time. WWE has seemingly admitted that by going back to a two-hour Raw format, too.

There is simply too much WWE programming each and every week to justify the blue brand going to three hours. It finally going back to USA Network is a big deal, but perhaps the three-hour thing happens for the first episode or so before reverting.

Verdict: Selling

Saraya isn’t leaving AEW anytime soon.

So says a new report from Fightful (h/t Ortman), which says that the company has re-signed the former AEW Women’s Champion to a one-year pact that runs through September of 2025.

This one feels super obvious, as Saraya has been a key component of the women’s division since arriving in 2022. That doesn’t figure to change, plus AEW can plainly see the upside of a veteran who is still just 32 years old—never mind that whole prevent-the-competition-from-getting-her-back thing.

While it does feel a little surprising that the reported deal isn’t for a longer duration now that longer deals seem like the standard procedure, it isn’t a strong enough reason to sell on this one.

Verdict: Buying

The subject of the Bad Blood main event has become something of a hot debate.

For a long time, it felt super-obvious that the extremely personal feud between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre would headline the event, no questions asked.

But according to PW Insider (h/t Ortman), some within WWE want to have the Rhodes-Reigns tag team against The Bloodline as the closing act.

This is a buy—WWE loves having its biggest names close the show. It doesn’t feel like it’s so much about Rhodes and Reigns tagging for the first time as it is most everything else taking a backseat to the Bloodline saga, and rightfully so, given how great it has been for years.

Buy or not, though, this could be a mistake, given how hard the Punk-McIntyre feud has carried WWE programming as the best feud in pro wrestling, well before they actually had a match. It feels like they deserve it, especially when the name of the PLE is so apt.

Verdict: Buying

Malakai Black has certainly been one of the most popular names in pro wrestling for years now.

That’s not going to stop now suddenly—Raj Giri reported that Black’s contract expires in early 2025 and that non-AEW companies have expressed interest.

Back in his WWE days, Black was a constant point of speculation over his usage and eventual possible departure. He eventually joined AEW, where the same thing started happening again not long after his arrival.

Considering Black’s talents and the fact he’s still only 39 years old, it’s a no-brainer of a buy to think most promotions would have an interest in him.

What’s especially interesting to consider is if he would entertain a WWE return now that Triple H handles the booking.