For many fans, reading about rumors -- and trawling the sites that traffic in them -- has become as popular as watching the matches themselves. In this daily column, we take a look at the biggest rumors and weirdest stories being churned out by those pro wrestling "news" sites.
Important reminders: Rumors are "rumors" and not "news" for a reason, folks. That which has not been confirmed as legitimate news or fact will be made clear. Also, don't let these things ruin your day. It gets better.
Rumors and News Bits for the Day:
- A new season of Maron starts on May 8 on IFC and the official trailer features CM Punk. So he'll be back on TV whenever his episode airs. As far as the WWE front, we're still dealing with radio silence. I was actually told, in an unofficial capacity, that there is a gag order in place and that's why no one who appears on TV regularly is talking unless they're asked and even then they give stock answers. There are some folks who insist he'll be back after recharging the batteries, with a new idea being a new contract when this one runs out in July that would look an awful lot like what Batista has now. That includes a WrestleMania main event. Then again, there are others who insist he's gone for good and despite WWE's best efforts, he's just done. The idea on the WWE side is a lot of guys say they're done and then they come back after some time away. We'll see.
- The ever fluid situation with Sting is that he had yet to sign his contract and return it to WWE to make it OFFICIALLY official but he's in and they've been operating as though he's already with the company. He's made a couple appearances on the WWE Network in recorded interviews for shows shot recently about Ultimate Warrior, one via cell phone and one a sit down where a camera crew was sent out. So he's in but there's no telling how he's going to be used after Undertaker's streak was broken.
- Speaking of Sting, Jim Ross has thoughts on how to book him here.
- Undertaker is an interesting case because WWE is continually playing up his streak being broken -- because of course -- and the company website has been pushing hard asking if we've seen the last of him. The answer is we most likely have not. At one point he was scheduled to work the Raw after WrestleMania, and that was after they knew the streak was being broken, so it's still at least in their mind to have him come back one more time. It makes business sense. He could be heavily promoted as appearing for the first time since his streak ended and if they left a cliffhanger wondering what he would say, fans would undoubtedly tune in, probably in record numbers. The streak ending was a legitimately huge story. It would be expected he could announce his retirement if he came back for another appearance, and that's an opportunity WWE almost cannot pass up on.
- For those of you who care about such things, it appears Evolution vs. The Shield, which was made official after SmackDown aired stateside, appears to be the headliner at Extreme Rules. The concept of being a main event on pay-per-view (PPV) in 2014 now that the WWE Network is live is different than it used to be, though, so it's hardly worth looking into. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane is expected for the undercard with some sort of stipulation attached to make it interesting.
- Ultimate Warrior's documentary on the Network was so good, WWE apparently believes USA, or some other network, would be interested in putting it on television. I watched it and, yes, it is absolutely one of the best things you'll watch. The thing about it is it has an entirely different tone because of his death. That's not to say it's being exploited -- certainly not that -- but it's impossible to watch without understanding he would die very shortly after most of it was filmed. So every scene means that much more, such as his reconciling with Hulk Hogan backstage at WrestleMania 30 and the story behind that. If you haven't seen it, go watch it now.
- PW Insider reported that Vince Russo is back with TNA in a consulting role but clarified that John Gaburick is running the show with a writing team underneath him and Russo only sends in ideas. There are times those ideas are used and times they aren't. So, yes, if you think something is classic Russo, you're probably right to think that.
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.