Rumor Roundup (Dec. 9, 2022): Sasha Banks to AEW, WWE pulls Matt Riddle, Regal, Darby is alive, 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:

• According to Fightful Select, several AEW performers are excited about the possibility of Sasha Banks joining AEW given the report that NJPW is bringing her into next month’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 event.
• An AEW source told Fightful that having Banks as the anchor of the women’s division could significantly increase AEW’s viewership and ratings.
• PW Insider was told that Matt Riddle has been pulled from WWE’s live events this weekend.
• Insider also mentioned that Drew McIntyre won’t be at tonight’s SmackDown taping, nor will he be on the road with WWE this weekend. The announcement that he has been medically disqualified from competing is not a work.
• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer said Veer Mahaan is not cleared to compete at NXT Deadline due to a minor injury. It sounds like he has an injury that most wrestlers would work through, but WWE is being extra cautious because they don’t want him to miss the upcoming India show in January. There’s way more money at stake for that show compared to NXT Deadline.
• Triple H recently met with Bad Bunny, adding more fuel to the rumor that WWE is planning to bring Bunny in for an angle on the road to WrestleMania 39.
• PW Insider heard that the reason why William Regal’s final AEW television appearance was pre-taped is because “he had a trip to Great Britain already planned and would not be back in time to do another live appearance.”
• Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez said that Darby Allin is “alive, and apparently not seriously injured” after all the brutal bumps he took against Samoa Joe on this week’s AEW Dynamite.

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.