Lots more on Bruce Prichard, Shawn Michaels, AJ Styles, Michael Hayes carousel in WWE (Patreon)

There’s a lot of speculation regarding the future of a number of positions in WWE.

The rumors emerged after PWInsider reported that Bruce Prichard plans to retire from WWE, with a target of around WrestleMania season. Fightful Select confirmed that Prichard does have a transition plan, but expects to work from home as opposed to retiring. He had about a six-month plan in mind as he has a neck surgery that he requires for an injury that has already made traveling difficult. Prichard filled in for Triple H for two weeks in October while he was on vacation.

There was immediate speculation that Shawn Michaels would take over Prichard’s role, which some in WWE pushed back on, noting that most of the NXT news to emerge regarding the situation either wasn’t true or had been nowhere near solidified. The sources in WWE that we spoke to claimed that a succession plan could be in order, but the ones outlined would create a domino effect across WWE, NXT, Evolve and ID, and the infrastructure would take a lot of adjustment that way.

AJ Styles is expected to continue to gain influence in the company as far as scouting. Bobby Roode has largely been planned to assume a role similar to Michael Hayes or Bruce Prichard, but it should be noted that is far from set in stone. WWE sources indicated that those plans would be solidified in the coming months if needed.

Regarding Styles, one Performance Center source said he has not been running things as rumored, but filled in to finish a class recently. They also called him a constant and positive presence in the Performance Center, and is expected to continue to gain influence.

It was noted – not even sarcastically – that Vince Russo is not a part of this creative carousel, but that a meeting with Nick Khan did occur this year.