WWE News & Rumor Roundup - Former champion returning before Royal Rumble; Roman Reigns retiring? Ex-AEW star may jump ship this week

Welcome to 2025's final edition of the WWE News and Rumors Roundup. Today, we have stories surrounding the return of a three-time world champion, an update on Roman Reigns' potential retirement, and an injury update that could shake things up on WWE RAW.

So, without any further delay, let's get into it.

5. Update on Roman Reigns' rumored retirement

The OTC has acknowledged that the end of the road is close for him on several occasions, hinting that he might only be active till 2028. However, he is unlikely to retire anytime soon, as revealed by Fightful.

Reigns' current contract is set to run till WrestleMania 42, after which he is likely to sign a new deal that will take him till 2027 or 2028. As a result, there are no plans for him to hang up his boots anytime soon.

4. Former tag team champion to return in time for Royal Rumble

Chad Gable has been away from programming for months, recovering from a rotator cuff injury. The American Made leader was written off television in June 2025, and his faction has rarely been featured on RAW amid his absence. His El Grande Americano gimmick has also been taken over by Ludwig Kaiser.

However, according to Fightful Select, there are plans for the former tag team champion to return to the company by the 2026 Royal Rumble. If so, he could immediately start a feud with the current version of El Grande Americano, portrayed by Kaiser.

3. WWE suffered a huge setback ahead of their one-year anniversary on Netflix

The December 22 edition of WWE RAW failed to enter the Netflix Global Top 10 charts and also struggled to get on the top 10 in the United States. One of the possible reasons behind this could have been that the show was taped beforehand due to the holiday season, and that the spoilers were already out on the internet.

The release of Stranger Things and all five seasons occupying the top five spots on the list has also been one of the reasons why RAW has been outside of the top.

2. Karrion Kross speaks on return to WWE's sister company

In a recent conversation with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, Karrion Kross spoke about a potential return to AAA. The Herald of Doomsday revealed that he was in regular contact with Konnan, but also revealed that he would have to go through a separate chain of command due to the change in hierarchy after the WWE deal.

As a result, a return to AAA might be difficult following his recent departure from the Stamford-based promotion.

1. Former AEW World Champion could make WWE return as soon as this week

Chris Jericho's AEW contract is reportedly set to expire on December 31. The former World Heavyweight Champion could make his return to WWE as soon as the first week of 2026, according to the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer.

While Meltzer revealed he had not heard about Jericho being signed yet, he claimed the return could legally happen as soon as the January 5 edition of RAW.

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Edited by Arsh Das