Written by 
WWE/Getty Images
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Punk Mentions The Rock, Reigns, Rhodes as Potential Opponents
Several potential dream matches and renewed rivalries could be on the table for CM Punk during his second run with WWE, and he mentioned some huge names when asked this week who he would like to face.
Speaking to Peter Rosenberg of Rosenberg Wrestling at ComplexCon (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), Punk ran down some of the biggest stars in WWE as possible opponents moving forward, including a former rival in The Rock:
“Then you talk about the money stuff, you talk about the marquee stuff. You talk about what is the match you could see main eventing a pay-per-view. That’s what gets my juices flowing. I think whenever myself and Roman Reigns are face-to-face on television, I think that’s gonna be a moment. The table is set for myself and Cody [Rhodes]. You also never know when The Rock is gonna come back.”
Punk also mentioned Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Chad Gable and Bronson Reed as Superstars he would like to face in smaller-scale matches than the ones The Rock, Reigns and Rhodes would present.
Going back to his first run with WWE, Punk has history with The Rock, Reigns and Rhodes, but his storyline with The Rock is undoubtedly among the best remembered aspects of his tenure.
Leading up to Royal Rumble 2013, Punk and The Rock engaged in some legendary promos, which built excitement and anticipation for their eventual match. The Rock ended up beating Punk, ending his 434-day run as WWE champion.
The Rock went on to face John Cena at the ensuing WrestleMania 29, so Punk and Rock never had the opportunity to run it back.
Now, The Rock is a member of TKO’s board of directors, and he returned to the ring earlier this year at WrestleMania 40, teaming with Reigns to beat Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
That suggests there could be more matches in The Rock’s future, and aside from clashes with Reigns and Rhodes, there would be none bigger than a rematch with Punk, so it is a blockbuster bout that figures to at least be considered in the years to come.
The Rock Reportedly Preparing for WWE Return
After making a surprise appearance last month at Bad Blood, there are reportedly plans in place for The Rock to do even more with WWE in the future.
According to WrestleVotes (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), The Rock is “gonna be around more,” and when the time comes for him to return again, he won’t be specifically tied to Raw or SmackDown.
That revelation comes as little surprise since it behooves WWE to be flexible when it comes The Rock due to the fact that he has a busy outside schedule he has to work around.
When The Rock was involved with the build toward WrestleMania 40 earlier this year, he made appearances on both Raw and SmackDown, and it helped boost the product as a whole.
Prior to WrestleMania 40, The Rock turned heel and began referring to himself as The Final Boss. He aligned himself with Reigns, and they beat Rhodes and Rollins on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40.
The Rock disappeared from WWE programming after WrestleMania, but not before making it clear to Rhodes that he was in his crosshairs.
After Reigns and Rhodes reluctantly teamed up to beat Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu at Bad Blood, The Rock returned, and although he didn’t say anything, he made a throat-slashing motion.
That led to a ton of speculation about what is next for The Rock, but it seems likely his next move will involve both Rhodes and Reigns in some way.
It isn’t yet clear when The Rock will resurface or what his first order of business would be, but an appearance on the first Raw on Netflix on Jan. 6 would make sense due to WWE undoubtedly having a desire to make it a star-studded event.
WWE Reportedly Yet to Announce Major WWE ID Signing
WWE has announced several signings to its WWE ID program in recent weeks, but the company reportedly isn’t done yet with the reveals.
According to Fightful Select (h/t Jenkins), WWE has more WWE ID signings to announce, including one that is “more high-profile” than the rest.
Last month, WWE announced the implementation of WWE ID, which is a program meant to help WWE identify talent and to provide independent wrestlers with a path to WWE.
As part of the announcement, WWE revealed that five wrestling schools were given an official WWE ID designation in Reality of Wrestling, Nightmare Factory, Black and Brave Academy, Elite Pro Wrestling Training Center and KnokX Pro Academy.
Since then, WWE has announced several WWE ID prospects, including Sean Legacy, Cappuccino Jones, Zayda Steel, Bryce Donovan, Marcus Mathers, Sam Holloway, Jack Summit, Zara Zakher, It’s Gal, Ice Williams, Aaron Rourke, Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor.
While being a WWE ID wrestler doesn’t necessarily guarantee a WWE contract, it does mean that a wrestler is firmly on WWE’s radar and has a leg up on other independent wrestlers in that regard.
The WWE ID additions have ranged from relative novices well-known independent stars, and it sounds as though WWE has at least one major signing up its sleeve that could be the headliner of the first WWE ID class.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below.