Rumor Roundup (Dec. 17, 2021): Owens & Zayn signing with WWE, Gargano or O’Reilly going to AEW, Hart ban, 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 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:

• F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer believes that Kevin Owens actually re-signed with WWE a couple weeks ago. Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian said AEW made him “a very nice offer,” but WWE countered it.
• There’s some speculation that Owens re-signing with WWE makes it more likely Sami Zayn will also re-sign with them, and that Zayn’s increased television time of late is part of WWE’s strategy to keep him.
• Zarian spoke to someone in WWE who is under the impression it’s a “done deal” that one of Johnny Gargano or Kyle O’Reilly is joining AEW.
• While discussing the lack of surprise appearances at Winter is Coming, Zarian mentioned that “debuts are happening” and “people are showing up” in AEW over “the next couple weeks.”
• Former WWE wrestler Viktor from The Ascension told the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast that WWE forbid him from mentioning his training in the Hart Family Dungeon. He recalls that William Regal referenced the Hart Dungeon once in NXT, and he was also told to quit saying it.

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