Rumor Roundup (Jan. 25, 2022): Rousey WWE return, AEW departures, Impact COVID issues, 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:

• Regarding the Ronda Rousey Royal Rumble story, Fightful Select says Rousey is back in training and it’s a matter of “when and not if” she will return.
• While it’s not clear if Ronda will be an official entrant in the Rumble match or just get involved some other way, it doesn’t look to be a one-off appearance. Wrestling Observer says “she is definitely on the books for WrestleMania.”
• Roderick Strong & LA Knight worked a dark match before last Friday’s SmackDown and taped matches for Main Event before yesterday’s Raw. That’s brought the usual talk their time in NXT could be coming to an end.
• In reports on talent that could be leaving AEW soon on expiring contracts, Fightful noted Lio Rush hadn’t been seen backstage since early December. PW Insider said Brian Cage has been around at tapings despite not having a match since October.
• Last weekend’s Impact tapings saw “a lot of pivots and rewrites” due to COVID issues that a source told Insider were the “worst they had seen”.

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.