Rumor Roundup (Jan. 7, 2023): McMahon insanity, WWE sale, Uncle Howdy identity, 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 said there is “lots of trepidation for sure” inside WWE following the news of Vince McMahon’s return to the Board of Directors. Multiple people told Insider that they “want out” upon his return.
• Insider mentioned that a lot of people in WWE have been “living in denial” about Vince’s return to power, and others were unaware that it could even happen. Everyone they spoke to in the company had a similar reaction of “how insane” things have been since the news broke about McMahon’s plot to reclaim his spot.
• Sean Ross Sapp notes that Man Jit Singh, who resigned from WWE’s Board of Directors yesterday when Vince McMahon officially returned, was the internal lead investigator of McMahon’s hush money payments. Insider said Singh pushed hard for WWE to “do their due diligence and investigate” when the scandal was revealed last year. Singh’s resignation was described as the “least shocking” news of the day.
• For what it’s worth, Insider was told that Vince McMahon was not at WWE headquarters yesterday, despite rumors to the contrary among WWE employees.
• WrestleVotes claims that “business as usual” was the main theme of WWE’s all-hands meeting on Friday addressing Vince’s return to the company.
• Front Office Sports heard that “Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is emerging as a possible bidder for WWE” if the company goes up for sale. The site notes that the Public Investment Fund “controls about $620 billion in assets.”
• It sounds like the identity of Uncle Howdy is a mystery to most people in WWE. Fightful Select was told that the person behind the mask doesn’t take off the costume in front of others backstage.
• Regarding the debut of Mercedes Moné (fka Sasha Banks) at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer heard that most fans in the live audience “did not know who she was” because “most New Japan fans aren’t fans of WWE or women’s wrestling.”
• After giving 6.25 stars to Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay in the Tokyo Dome, Meltzer said the two wrestlers held back on some big moves because the idea is to do a “series of matches.” It’s expected that their match at Wrestle Kingdom 17 will be mentioned on AEW television very soon.
• Fightful confirmed that EJ Nduka’s deal with MLW is over and he is a free agent. Per WON, “there is interest in him from multiple promotions including WWE having expressed some interest in bringing him back.”

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.