Rumor Roundup (May 16, 2023): New homes for Raw & SmackDown, Bray Wyatt status, Liv Morgan injury, 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:

• While the site didn’t say it’s why Raw, NXT and SmackDown were barely mentioned during NBCUniversal and FOX’s upfronts yesterday, PW Insider Elite did report that the networks’ exclusive negotiating window for WWE’s next rights deals either have or are about to expire. People within WWE believe that means the company’s about to open the process up so anyone can bid to become their shows’ next home.
• Another Insider Elite report noted that “Bray Wyatt is not currently listed in any fashion internally on the WWE roster.” Fightful Select says that’s because he’s still dealing with the illness he’s been sidelined with for months.
• Fightful was able to confirm both Wyatt and Bo Dallas, who portrays Uncle Howdy and whose creative is on hold with Bray out, are still with the company. Their sources have also heard Wyatt wants to and is hopeful about returning, but there’s no word on his status.
• The Liv Morgan injury mentioned on Raw last night is legitimate, per Fightful Select. She was hurt in her & Raquel Rodriguez’s Tag title defense against Damage CTRL on SmackDown, but Fightful’s sources hadn’t heard specifically when it happened in that match, or how severe it is.
• In response to fans who were upset about LA Knight’s booking of late and his SmackDown segment getting bumped to the post-show, Boozer Rasslin said a Knight push is still “in the books 100%” and the popular star is “in good hands” creatively.
• Several WWE talents “have been given more flexibility in their promos in recent weeks,” according to Fightful Select. The site’s sources pointed to Karrion Kross and Shinsuke Nakamura’s program as an example.
• The talks WWE was rumored to be having Australian officials are about bringing a premium live event to Perth, reports Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The Sporting News adds the event would likely happen between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 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.