Rumor Roundup (Oct. 19, 2023): Punk/WWE, Triple H creative changes, AEW ticket surge, 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:

• Despite reports WWE decided against signing CM Punk, BWE posted that the company will continue making references to the fired AEW star. The X account also claimed to be close to confirming “a round of updates on ‘his’ situation”.
• A Fightful Select report on Vince McMahon’s removal from WWE creative said that some see it as having happened “overnight”, and that with Triple H now running things changes are likely to continue.
• The report also included that while many of the changes McMahon made to shows this year were minimal, they often included “wrestlers he did or didn’t want on the show.” One writer told Figthtful: “I guess he wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t in the weeds, but in a way, he just sprayed Roundup on the weeds and checked in on them every so often.”
• Matches like the recent Xavier Woods/Ivar, Ricochet/Shinsuke Nakamura & GUNTHER/Bronson Reed ones were cited by Fightful sources as “very important in establishing the in-ring aspect of WWE Raw.”
• After a late run on tickets for last night’s AEW show led to the company opening up more seats at the greater Houston area venue, Dave Meltzer credited the announcement of lucha libre star Mistico’s Rampage match as the primary driver of increased demand.
• Serena Deeb was backstage at Collision last Saturday, per Fightful. It’s reportedly the first time she’s been at an AEW show this year. Different sources had previously told the site Deeb was either in hot water with management, or was out nursing an injury.

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.