Rumor Roundup (Feb. 1, 2022): Riddle/Orton plans, Royal Rumble changes & morale, Balor, 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:

• Riddle was originally scheduled to win the men’s Royal Rumble last Saturday, per PW Insider. Plans changed “a ton of times” during the week before settling on Brock Lesnar. Randy Orton was considered at one point, too.
• Which could be worth remembering, since WrestleVotes tweets that Riddle vs. Orton for the WWE title at WrestleMania 38 is being pitched by “a handful of creative members”. However, it sounds like most backstage are not in favor of splitting RK-Bro.
• Back to the Rumble, Insider claims morale was down in the locker room after the show.
• They also point to the absence of Triple H and TJ Wilson as a reason why this year’s Rumbles fell flat. It’s traditionally been Hunter’s job to make sure people get individual moments to shine within the overall men’s Rumble story, and Wilson is usually lead on putting the women’s Rumble together. Neither were there Saturday.
• WrestleVotes also says Finn Balor isn’t injured, but is currently out of the country. WWE expects him back by WrestleMania.

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.