Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Reported Plans for WWE Bad Blood Main Event

Despite the excitement surrounding the Hell in a Cell match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre, WWE is reportedly planning to have a different match headline the Oct. 5 Bad Blood premium live event.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), internal WWE plans dating back to last week had the tag team match pitting Roman Reigns and WWE champion Cody Rhodes against Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu tabbed as the Bad Blood main event.

Given that Reigns and Rhodes are WWE's two biggest stars and draws, it will come as no surprise if that comes to fruition.

It is a rare occasion that Reigns is not the headliner, and the fact that it will be his first match since WrestleMania 40 in April perhaps increases the chances even more of him being in the Bad Blood main event.

The intrigue surrounding Reigns and Rhodes as a team after previously being heated rivals adds to the main event aura, as does Reigns' attempts to take back control of The Bloodline.

Even so, a strong argument can be made for Punk and McIntyre to be the main event, since their match will almost certainly be the best on the card, and they have been engaged in the most compelling feud in WWE for months.

It is unlikely that fans would complain about Punk and McIntyre being in the main event slot, but there are other factors that would make it difficult for WWE to leave Reigns and Rhodes out.

Most notably, Bad Blood is taking place in Atlanta, and Rhodes is from Georgia, while Reigns played football at Georgia Tech.

Last week on SmackDown, Reigns and Rhodes had a meeting on Georgia Tech's football field with both of them discussing the impact they have had on the area and vice versa.

Given their deep ties to the state of Georgia, Reigns and Rhodes figure to get massive reactions at Bad Blood, and WWE would likely prefer to have that in the main event than anywhere else on the card.

WWE, USA Reportedly Discussing 3-Hour SmackDown

WWE and USA Network are reportedly holding talks regarding the possibility of SmackDown becoming a three-hour show.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), WWE and USA are "certainly in negotiations" to expand SmackDown from two to three hours, but nothing has been finalized.

Meltzer noted that WWE is trying to negotiate a larger contract in exchange for adding an extra hour to the show, and he gave it a "better than 50 percent" chance of it happening.

SmackDown officially made the move from Fox to USA Network a couple of weeks ago, and Raw is preparing to move from USA to Netflix beginning in January.

Until then, both Raw and SmackDown will air on USA, with Raw going from three hours to two beginning next month.

It is anticipated Raw will return to three hours once it hits Netflix, but the length of SmackDown is currently in limbo.

SmackDown has typically been a two-hour show throughout its existence, but since USA Network is losing three hours of weekly WWE programming with Raw going to Netflix, it would make sense for the network to attempt to replace it with another three-hour show.

Three hours long felt like too much for Raw after it expanded from two hours in 2012, but under the leadership of head of creative Triple H, the shows have been far more palatable.

That could potentially be the case for SmackDown as well, and given that top stars such as Reigns and Rhodes are exclusive to SmackDown as of now, adding another hour would allow WWE to get them even more screen time, which would likely result in higher ratings.

Hikuleo Reportedly Ticketed for NXT

Former New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Hikuleo reportedly isn't slated to begin his WWE career on the main roster.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Mukherjee), Hikuleo is being listed internally be WWE on the NXT roster.

The 6'8" big man has long been rumored to be under contract with WWE after leaving NJPW, although he has yet to make his debut. The prevailing assumption among fans has been that WWE was saving his debut for a big angle involving The Bloodline.

Hikuleo is the brother of Bloodline members Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, and he was part of both Bullet Club and Guerrillas of Destiny with them in New Japan.

While it is easy to envision Hikuleo eventually joining The Bloodline, his roster placement suggests that he will at least make a stop in NXT first.

Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa are pro wrestling veterans, whereas Hikuleo is still relatively early in his career, having debuted in late 2016. Because of that, he could potentially benefit from some seasoning in NXT.

WWE seems to be going to great lengths to build up NXT since it is moving to The CW next month, and adding a talented and athletic big man with some name recognition in Hikuleo would potentially provide the brand with a boost.

Hikuleo's debut date and subsequent plans remain unclear, but given the size and dominance of North American champion Oba Femi, Hikuleo stands out as someone who could be the ideal challenger for his title.

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