Rumor Look Back: Oct. 30 - Nov. 6, 2022

Welcome to the weekly Rumor Look Back, where we look at the rumors from six months ago and see which played out as originally stated. Let’s jump right to it.

October 31, 2022

• According to Fightful Select, WWE is “interested in bringing back several women who formerly worked for the company.” That includes Tegan Nox.
• Tegan did come back, though she hasn’t been used often. (1/1)
• AEW had big plans for revisiting the CM Punk vs. MJF program after All Out, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• It really feels like Punk’s antics really derailed some major plans. Though to be fair, even if he didn’t go off at the presser, his injury would have done the same.
• Despite speculation about Punk returning to WWE, no talks have taken place between the two parties, per the Observer.
• Punk did stop by WWE the other week as part of his wrestling backstage tour.
• PW Insider says Mike Tyson could be making multiple appearances for AEW. A deal between the two sides was struck just days before his return.
• That did not happen. (0/1)
• Andrew Zarian notes that NBCU executives have been very positive towards NXT of late.
• I wonder where that lands when deals are re-negotiated.

November 1, 2022

• Kevin Owens is off television because WWE’s plans for him are “on hold” due to Sami Zayn & The Bloodline being “white hot right now.” That’s what WrestleVotes told GiveMeSport. They also said whatever WWE has in mind for KO is “not off, because the plan is for Kevin Owens to be with Sami Zayn.”
• They eventually got there, though it took longer than I would have initially guessed. But they did well with it.
• A positive sign for Sasha Banks’ relationship with WWE: Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reports she was the company’s guest at the house show in Mexico City Sunday night.
• She has not return to the E.
• In an interview with WrestleRoasts on his story about CM Punk’s side of the All Out brawl, Wrestling Inc’s Nick Hausman said he was “explicitly told communication had broken down and there had not been communication from their side [AEW] with Punk’s camp.” Hausman felt he was given information by Punk’s camp because of “resentment towards how much of the story had been told from one side.”
• This is such a wild story.
• “I think we have a few NXT cuts today,” The Observer’s Bryan Alvarez tweeted to his Super Followers.
• This is accurate. (1/1)
• Two former Ring of Honor employees have joined MLW, according to PW Insider. Former ROH Director of Operations Gary Juster and former ROH booker Hunter “Delirious” Johnson.
• Delirious was an ROH guy for a long time.

November 2, 2022

• On Wrestling Observer Radio, Wrestling Inc’s Nick Hausman said he’s spoken to people close to CM Punk who say he’s never going to wrestle again now that his stint in AEW is up.
• This sounds like it is going to be false. But I guess we should wait until it’s official.
• Dave Meltzer mentioned on Twitter that WWE is monitoring the situation in Saudi Arabia —the Wall Street Journal reported Saudi Arabia has warned the U.S. of “an imminent attack from Iran on targets in the kingdom” — and the plan right now is for Crown Jewel to move forward as scheduled but that could obviously change in a hurry.
• These shows seem to have a lot of issues. Like when they worked right after the Jamal Khashoggi murder or the plane incident. That’s what happens when they decided to do long term business with an oppressive government.
• Sasha Banks name hasn’t come up in creative talks within WWE, claims Ringside News.
• That makes sense.
• On Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez said that Bodhi Hayward was “apparently a handful” and there’s more to the story to his release but he couldn’t go into details on it from there.
• That’s very vague.
• Fightful Select says there was a Halloween Party segment prepared for Raw this week that obviously didn’t end up happening.
• They love their holiday gimmicks.
• Raquel Rodriguez teamed with AJ Styles & Rey Mysterio against The Judgment Day at recent house shows, leading to speculation she could be called in by The O.C. to deal with the Rhea Ripley problem.
• Rhea was not the answer to the Ripley problem. Instead Mia Yim was - not that she really was the answer. There has been no answer to the Nightmare. (0/1)

November 3, 2022

• CM Punk still has “the wrestling bug” after his AEW run, a source told Fightful Select — so he may not be done as was recently speculated. Their story mentions that WWE would “likely be interested” in “possibly” bringing him in, and that reps of several other companies said they’d at least be interested in talking to him.
• Much like the last one, we should give it time.
• Fightful also had a WWE source confirm for them that Vince McMahon is “done, done” and won’t be returning to any of his old roles at WWE. Another higher-up at the company reiterated that morale is great right now.
• This is a very wrong rumor. He’s back in a big way. He’s not running the day to day creative, but he’s the man still. Sorry to burst your bubble, folks from last November. (0/1)
• Regarding the threats Saudi Arabia is said to have warned the U.S. government about, PW Insider reports WWE “already has security protocols and emergency contingencies in place for any issues.”
• There were no issues.
• In response to an earlier rumor that she was backstage at WWE’s Mexico City show last weekend, Superluchas’ Apolo Valdés said Sasha Banks was in the area to train, and a photo of her with Bayley & the luchador Mamba that was circulating wasn’t taken at the WWE event.
• We’ll split the rumors. (1/2)
• T-BAR is listed by his old indie name “Donovan Dijak” on WWE’s internal roster, according to Insider. The site notes Triple H is still high on the former Ring of Honor and NXT wrestler.
• He wrestles just under Dijak, working NXT right now.
• After Shinsuke Nakamura mentioned that WWE was originally not on board with him wrestling The Great Muta in Pro Wrestling NOAH, Wrestling Inc reported Triple H personally reached out to NOAH to see if the opportunity was still available. They also say NOAH had Sonny Onoo clear the deal with their partners in AEW before announcing it.
• Nakamura specifically credited Triple H for making it happen.

November 4, 2022

• WrestleVotes told GiveMeSport that when Randy Orton was injured earlier this year, WWE’s plan was for him to turn on Matt Riddle as soon as he returns.
• It’s still possible since they have since brought Riddle back as a babyface. We’re still waiting on Randy though.
• Votes also mentioned that Colt Cabana’s return to AEW television this week “didn’t go unnoticed in Stamford.” According to Fightful, WWE interpreted it as a “huge signal” that CM Punk is done with AEW.
• It may have been at the time, but it sounds like Punk’s on the way back.
• That being said, PW Insider was told Cabana remains on the Ring of Honor roster and his match on Dynamite was planned to be a one-off appearance.
• It was a one-off. He’s barely worked any dates since then and nothing on AEW specific shows. (1/1)
• Insider also mentioned that Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and Dan Lambert were backstage at Dynamite this week, while MJF was not there.
• I kind of blocked out the Dan Lambert era of AEW.
• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer said WWE released Bodhi Hayward because “they didn’t like the work ethic, and they didn’t like that he was late for shows.”
• That type of thing will get you. He worked two AEW Dark matches but hasn’t been doing anything since.
• Meltzer claims the main reason for the other NXT cuts this week was “lack of progression.” There will be regular developmental cuts for those people who don’t improve quickly enough.
• This is a long standing rumor that talent will have a set amount of time to show improvement before they’re cut loose. Which makes sense overall, though some folks find that spark later in their development.
• Per Meltzer, AEW expected a big viewership drop for this week’s Dynamite due to the MLB World Series. That’s why the strategy of the show was to book so many surprises, to ensure people would be “hearing about them and then wanting to see them on DVR.”
• These wrestling shows are always navigating major sporting events.
• Dark Side of the Ring co-creator Evan Husney told the Two Man Power of Wrestling podcast there are plans for a fourth season of the show: “There’s still some things to work out. Can’t say anything official yet. We’re in talks right now, there should be an official word — wink, wink, nod, nod — soon we hope.”
• It’s been announced.

November 5, 2022

• Stone Cold Steve Austin was so “elated” with his match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 that a WrestleVotes source within WWE thinks Austin would listen to proposals that call for him to wrestle again next year at WrestleMania 39.
• Maybe he listened but he didn’t actually wrestle.
• PW Insider’s Dave Scherer wrote the following about AEW’s investigation into the backstage fight at All Out 2022 between CM Punk, Ace Steel, and The Elite: “From what I have heard and seen, the investigation was a farce.”
• Will probably have to wait for a couple more seasons of Dark Side until we get this.
• In his new role at AEW, Wrestling Observer Newsletter says Jeff Jarrett will work on the company’s international business and also live events. Some talent on the roster are pushing for house shows as a way to wrestle more, but especially with ticket sales down this year, there are currently no “definitive” plans to start doing non-televised live events.
• They are doing some house shows. They have a young roster, so more reps is better, especially with the AEW Darks leaving the schedule.
• Colt Cabana’s appearance on Dynamite was Tony Khan’s idea, per the WON. Dave Meltzer wrote: “This was more for the locker room than anything else, that having Cabana on the show and given a positive spotlight after months of being ostracized for reasons that had nothing to do with him was a dressing room morale booster since he had many friends there.”
• It also served as a shot at CM Punk, whether intentional or not.
• In line with recent rumors, Fightful Select says Mia Yim will likely be back with WWE soon.
• She was OC’s attempted answer to the Ripley problem. (1/1)
• WWE is very high on Grayson Waller, according to what WrestleVotes told GiveMeSport. Waller may be kept on the developmental brand until they have a big main roster debut angle ready for him, “like Kevin Owens coming in and beating John Cena.”
• He was called up in the draft. On Raw talk, so not even on TV. Doesn’t sound like a big angle to me. (0/1)

This week: 5/10 - 50%

October 2022: 39/60 - 65%

Overall: 4,547/7,969 - 57.1%

Have a great week, everyone!