Rumor Roundup (Jan. 29, 2019): WWE intergender, Jarrett signs, backstage additions, Cross reaction, 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:

• On Wrestling Observer Radio it was speculated that Nia Jax’s Royal Rumble appearance was done to ease more intergender wrestling into their programming. It was hypothesized this might be a result of complaints from Mixed Match Challenge viewers about men not being allowed to do moves on women.
• Jeff Jarrett has signed a new WWE contract to work backstage as a producer, per Bill Apter’s 1Wrestling. PW Insider confirms that, and also says Double J will be appearing as on-screen talent, too.
• Shane “Hurricane” Helms hired from ROH to join Abyss & Sonjay Dutt as main roster producers for WWE, says Wrestling Inc. Insider says Helms was backstage at Raw last night along with Dutt.
• People backstage were impressed by the pop Nikki Cross got during the Women’s Rumble match Sunday, according to PW Insider.
• POST Wrestling says next Sunday’s live Halftime Heat match will happen at WWE’s Orlando Performance Center.

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.