Rumor Roundup (Jan. 14, 2023): Mercedes Moné heat, Vince return, WWE sale, Stephanie upset, 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 the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Mercedes Moné already has some heat with New Japan/Stardom over social media posts promoting competitors like Sendai Girls and Tokyo Joshi Pro. “The feeling is that now that she’s with Bushiroad, she [should] be only promoting Bushiroad companies in Japan.” Dave Meltzer noted Moné didn’t go to the Stardom dojo while she was in Japan.
• There are rumors that after Vince McMahon returned to WWE, he sent messages to multiple departments saying they are “doing things wrong,” per Fightful.
• Fightful Select heard from multiple sources in WWE that “a usually composed Stephanie [McMahon] was disheartened and frustrated” by the way her team was “dismantled” by Vince.
• Citing analysis from Morgan Stanley, the Observer notes that SmackDown has been “a major money loser for FOX,” partially due to “the lowest ad rates of any Friday night network prime time show.” The financial losses for FOX are expected to get even worse on these final two years of the current TV deal. [Editor’s note: Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics has pushed back on the Observer’s analysis of this month-old Morgan Stanley report, acknowledging that SmackDown is a loss leader for FOX, but disputing the conclusion rights fees won’t go up in the next round of bidding.]
• Per the WON, people within WWE have said that Saudi Arabia is “in the running but not the favorite” to buy WWE.
• Contacts within Comcast and Disney told Fightful it’s doubtful that “any major company” would want to keep Vince McMahon around “in any capacity” after purchasing WWE.
• Xero News claims that the unified titles held by Roman Reigns and The Usos “will be split” before WrestleMania 39.
• Pretty Deadly “did a really great job” working main roster house shows last weekend, sources told PW Insider.

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.