Rumor Roundup (May 23, 2023): CM Punk/AEW issues, Mercedes Moné plans, WWE World Heavyweight title, more!

Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill.

Important reminder: Rumors are just that — rumors. None of this has been confirmed as fact, it’s just circulating around the pro wrestling rumor mill. We track rumor accuracy in a weekly feature called Rumor Look Back you can find here. Remember, take it all with a grain of salt.

Rumors for the Day:

• PW Torch’s Wade Keller writes that he is “consistently told by multiple people in AEW” that most of the company’s “top wrestlers who regularly appear on Dynamite would be relieved if [CM] Punk and AEW parted ways.”
• In a recent Twitter Spaces session, Wrestling Inc founder Raj Giri claimed AEW sent a legal document to Punk over the weekend, and if Punk doesn’t comply with its (unspecified) contents the promotion will file a lawsuit against him.
• Early ticket sales for Collision shows have been slow, says Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer. Meltzer attributes that to lack of buzz as “the names that were announced and everything like that, it’s not enough.”
• Prior to her injury forcing an audible, both Wrestling Observer and PW Insider say Mercedes Moné was booked to beat Willow Nightingale and win the new NJPW Strong Women’s title.
• Meltzer also said on Observer Radio that Moné signed a new deal with New Japan & Stardom’s parent company Bushiroad, but he wasn’t sure how many dates it covers.
• WWE’s new World Heavyweight title will be considered a continuation of the belt introduced in 2002 for Triple H, according to BWE. Either Seth Rollins or AJ Styles will be listed in the company’s official records after Randy Orton, who held the WWE & WHC belts when they were unified in 2013.

If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you’d like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Just remember they are rumors and not confirmed as fact, so please take them as such. And check our weekly Rumor Look Back here to keep track of how often rumors turn out to be correct.