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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.
Batista is all about that paper:
The dirt screens are alive with the sound of music dissension among members of Evolution. It's been well reported at Cageside Seats that, based on reports by the Observer and PWInsider, Batista refused to lose to Daniel Bryan at next month's Payback "special event".
Random Rumors and NEWZ:
- It important to note, and on some level to be fair to Batista, it appears many talents are unhappy with their recent paychecks. It's easy to speculate on what could be causing the dip, from changes in payout structure in the "Special Event" era to a decrease of cash on hand because of the start-up fees for the Network to deeper financial trouble hinted at by recent alleged investigations of WWE financial dealings. But, we here at the Rumor Round-Up refuse to take the easy way out when it comes to presenting you the NEWZ.
- Speaking of the Network, the first causality of the disappointing subscriber numbers was wished well in his future endeavors. And this was no Mason Ryan that was shown the door: it was Matt Singerman, the Executive Vice President of Programming, who was let go this past week by the WWE. He was in reportedly in charge of all programming for the Network, though there's no word on if he was to blame for the Hardy Boyz being voted the second best tag team of all time on WWE's Countdown.
- The Sheamus heel turn appears to be underway, with the Celtic Warrior defeating Shield member Dean Ambrose in the 20-man battle royal that began Raw on Monday night. While adding Sheamus to Evolution would make sense, it is not known if that is happening. It's also unclear whether or not his physical inability to tan would prevent him from being allowed in the group.
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.