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 legitimate news or fact; so remember to take it all with a grain of salt.
Rumors for the Day:
- We've heard that it is looking possible for Punk to return on tonight's Raw, which is being broadcast from his hometown of Chicago, IL. Now, insider sources are coming forward saying it is all but 100-percent certain that Punk will return. It is being said that this plan has been in place for a few days now, and did cause a rewrite of the Raw script over the weekend. It is looking likely that Punk will be inserted into the Batista/Randy Orton WWE World Heavyweight title match at WrestleMania XXX, while Daniel Bryan will take Punk's previously planned spot against Triple H at that show. It is expected that WWE officials will turn Punk's absence into a work for storyline purposes, but as past rumors indicated, it was most definitely not part of the original plans. CM Punk legitimately walked out and now, it appears that he has been enticed into coming back.
- Now that Punk is apparently back, some of the reasons for his abrupt exit are coming out. Speculation has long been that both physical and mental burnout contributed to Punk leaving, but it is being said that there wasn't a specific injury at play which caused him to leave. Additionally, a major source of his issues with the company has been traced back to when he first learned that Batista was set to win the Royal Rumble. Punk did not feel that Batista was in good enough ring shape to justify giving him a headlining match at WrestleMania over guys, such as Punk, who had been there year round. The straw that finally broke the camel's back may have been when Punk found out that he would not only be wrestling Triple H at WrestleMania XXX, but was being booked to lose the match. The bit about losing the match has never been confirmed, but was hotly rumored at the time.
- One final item on Punk and I promise I'll stop until we see for sure if he's back or not: It is being said that if he does return tonight and is in fact placed into the WrestleMania XXX title match, he would not likely be booked to win unless he is willing to sign a contract extension with WWE. Punk's contract runs out this summer (there seems to be some conflicting reports on if it's June or July.) A possible title win in the WrestleMania main event would be a big bargaining chip for WWE when it comes to keeping Punk around.
- Speaking of tonight's Raw, we already knew that Brock Lesnar would be on the show responding to the attack at the hands of the Undertaker last week. Now, it has been announced that the Undertaker will appear as well. With Punk also rumored to be returning and the Shield/Wyatts rematch on the card, tonight's Raw is shaping up to potentially be even bigger than last week's.
- After technical issues caused some WWE Network consumers to lose their feed of last week's NXT:ArRival, there has apparently been at least some talk of WWE hosting another high-traffic event on the Network prior to WrestleMania XXX in order to work out the bugs. Technical issues on the Network during WrestleMania XXX would be absolutely disastrous for something WWE has invested so much time and money in. The thought is that there could be some sort of mini-PPV to stress the system in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania XXX.
- For the second time since hitting the independent scene following his TNA contract expiring, AJ Styles has been involved with an injury to another wrestler while using his "Styles Clash" finisher. This time, it was British wrestler "Lionheart" during a match between the two at a Preston City Wrestling event in the UK. Lionheart suffered a broken neck in two places as a result of the move, but luckily, avoided any damage to the spinal cord and has movement in his extremities. (Styles previously injured Ring of Honor star Roderick Strong at a match in January using the move.)
If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you'd like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Please remember, these are merely rumors. Try not to take them too seriously, just have fun with them.