Rumor Roundup (June 5, 2023): Cody Rhodes match, AJ Styles, Drew McIntyre update, 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:

• BWE claims Cody Rhodes wanted to do a Dog Collar match against Brock Lesnar but it was rejected.
• BWE also claims there have been discussions of AJ Styles being “more aggressive and determined” but it’s not confirmed.
• For what it’s worth, Drew McIntyre “completed the process to become a naturalized American citizen” during his time off, says PW Insider. No update on negotiations with WWE, however.
• Also from Insider: there were many backstage at AEW praising Jamie Hayter for working through her back injury en route to losing the women’s title to Toni Storm at Double or Nothing.
• Speaking of that show, PPV buys for Double or Nothing are “virtually identical” to how this year’s Revolution was tracking in the week after the show, says the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. If that trend holds, the estimate is for 130,000 to 135,000. That would be a drop from last year.
• On his “What Happened When” podcast, Tony Schiavone said his AEW contract is up in April of next year.

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.