Rumor Roundup (Jan. 8, 2022): Samoa Joe return, McIntyre’s neck, WALTER move, 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 writes that Drew McIntyre’s neck has been bothering him “for months” and he was on his way to “major surgery” if nothing was done about it. His neck is being examined extensively. WWE hopes McIntyre can avoid surgery and be back in time for WrestleMania 38, but nobody knows how it will turn out.
• Sources tell Fightful Select they expect Samoa Joe to return to the ring after his latest WWE release.
• WALTER has moved to the United States and will be a full-time performer on NXT going forward, per Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• After Kyle O’Reilly referred to himself, Adam Cole & Bobby Fish as “the Paragon of AEW” on recent episodes of Dynamite, the company filed a trademark on the term and a possible logo. That’s led to speculation it will be Undisputed ERA’s name in their new home.
• Jade Cargill was planned to win AEW’s TBS title from the start, says PW Insider, but there was some discussion about changing that after an October tweet from Big Swole seemed to reveal the outcome.

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.