Rumor Roundup (Aug. 17, 2021): WWE reaction to Punk’s AEW debut, Becky Lynch, pre-taping NXT, 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:

• Don’t expect a “reactionary” move from WWE if (when) CM Punk debuts for AEW on Rampage the night before SummerSlam, per WrestleVotes.
• Becky Lynch has been training at Seth Rollins’ Black & Brave Academy since May, sources told Fightful Select. Those sources also say Lynch looks “ring ready” based on drills they’ve seen.
• After it was widely reported NXT would pre-tape three weeks of episodes in the days after Sunday’s TakeOver 36, PW Insider said the current plan is to return to airing live on Sept. 14.
• Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer said there’s been lots of talk at WWE about permanently moving NXT back to a taped format as a cost-saving measure, but Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian spoke to a USA Network source who told him, “A taped show is not what we paid for.”
• The date of WWE’s next Saudi Arabia show has been confirmed as Thurs., Oct. 21, per PW Insider.

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.

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