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 Insider says WWE and AJ Styles were deep into contract talks before Royal Rumble but when a deal wasn’t done close enough to showtime the decision was made to have him lose the match. It was his idea to do so, because he found it fitting considering it was the 10-year anniversary of his debut at the same event.
- Having said that, his future is unclear. The two sides are apparently still in communication but a new deal hasn’t been done and he’ll be free to talk to other promotions soon enough. There is no expectation he would jump somewhere else and wrestle again right away, however.
- A report from SelfMade says WWE is expecting Bianca Belair to be involved in WrestleMania 42, but couldn’t get details on if she’d be returning or wrestling on the show. Bodyslam confirmed that, but reminded that Belair’s recovery has been “rough” with “a lot of complications”, and added that on the internal roster she’s listed “with a tag that has no return date designated”.
- SelfMade also says CM Punk vs. Finn Balor is happening at Elimination Chamber because the former really wanted to work with the latter.
- Discussing Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee being booked for Elimination Chamber on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said he was expecting that match at WrestleMania so he checked with his WWE sources and was told, “there’s a reason it’s here and the story goes until ‘Mania” and “Don’t worry, it all plays out to get there.”
- According to Fightful Select, Samoa Joe suffered an injury in training and AEW has put him in the concussion protocol as a precautionary measure.
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 with a grain of salt.