Rumor Roundup (July 23, 2022): Vince McMahon’s retirement, Brock Lesnar walk out, 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:

• PW Insider heard that Vince McMahon’s decision to retire from WWE was privately made about seven to ten days ago. The news was revealed late on Friday to limit the “negative fallout” in the media and on WWE’s stock price. There was an all hands on deck virtual “rah rah meeting” before SmackDown where Vince was described as “irreplaceable,” but everyone was reassured the company is in good hands with Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan.
• There was a lot of shock and confusion backstage at SmackDown surrounding Vince’s retirement. However, Insider was told the locker room overall had a “pretty positive reaction,” with hope for a new energy in WWE’s creative process going forward. Younger talent in particular believe a new vision will help WWE connect better with their audience.
• Brock Lesnar walking out on SmackDown was not a work, even though he returned by the end of the episode. Sean Ross Sapp says the script was “completely re-done without Brock in it” and finished by 7 pm ET. The final segment of the show was written in a way where Lesnar could be added to it if he returned in time.
• The injury which caused Sami Zayn to wear a sling on television recently is “legit” according to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, but it’s not serious and WWE hopes he’ll be able to wrestle in a few weeks.
• The WON also had good news on Matt Jackson’s injury. The Young Buck is reportedly doing “a lot better” after suffering a stinger on the July 13 episode of Dynamite. Jackson described it as “like bad whiplash.” AEW also hopes he’ll be wrestling again in a few weeks.

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.