Rumor Roundup (Jan. 18, 2019): WWE release requests, new contracts, Andrade, Lars Sullivan, 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 legitimate news or 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:

• While there are wrestlers asking to be released within WWE, the Observer says none are expected to have their requests granted.
• To that end, PW Insider notes Mike Kanellis had his request for a release from WWE rejected a number of weeks ago.
• Related to all this, Insider says WWE is now talking to talent who have deals coming up within the next year and trying to sign them to new long term deals.
• Per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Andrade warned both Rush and Dragon Lee about going to WWE, saying “it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
• WWE has given Lars Sullivan the option to return whenever he is ready, according to the Observer.

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. Have fun with it. And check our weekly Rumor Look Back here to keep track of how often rumors turn out to be correct.