Rumor Roundup (Jan. 21, 2022): WALTER name change, Vince doesn’t like Balor, Konnan, FTR, 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:

• According to Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian, a lot of people in WWE “had no clue” about the Nazi connection to the name “Gunther Stark” until journalists started looking into it.
• Zarian also heard that compared to just a few years ago, many more wrestlers today in WWE openly complain to the creative team when they don’t like the material they are given to work with. This is especially true of the top stars in the company.
• A source in WWE told Ringside News that Vince McMahon views Finn Balor as just “filler on the roster.” More specifically, Vince thinks Finn is “a high spot guy that doesn’t sell in a way that means box office.” Vince was never big on Balor, even when he put the Universal championship on him.
• While discussing Konnan’s current heart problems, Dave Meltzer mentioned on Wrestling Observer Radio that Konnan needs another kidney transplant.
• Meltzer said that even though FTR’s match on this week’s Dynamite was canceled due to medical protocol, the issue is not with FTR. They are fine and do not have COVID.

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.