Rumor Roundup (Oct. 6, 2023): Cena vs. Reigns, McRiddle plans, Hogan WrestleMania match, 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:

• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer said it “feels like” WWE is heading towards a John Cena vs. Roman Reigns match at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia next month. [Editor’s note: Not so fast... more on this here.]
• Before Matt Riddle was fired by WWE, the company had “significant plans” for his tag team with Drew McIntyre, including merchandise designs with the team name “McRiddle.” That comes from the WrestleVotes account, which also emphasizes that “This is not a joke.”
• Fightful Select says Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were originally supposed to reunite as DIY on the June 19 episode of Raw. The idea was for Ciampa to answer Seth Rollins’ open challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship, the Judgment Day would ruin the finish, and Gargano would make the save. The planned angle was dropped after late changes were made to the show.
• Hulk Hogan told Chris Van Vliet the story about Shane McMahon asking him to wrestle a match together at WrestleMania 39. This time, though, Hogan said they discussed having his son Nick wrestle in his place because Nick “was in Rikishi’s school for a couple years” and “had it figured out.” The idea never went anywhere though because Nick “blew both his shoulders out” and Shane hurt his quad.
• Fightful spoke to a source connected to WWE who said there is “no way” The Hulkster’s story is true. Nick Hogan’s name was never seriously brought up in any creative conversations in WWE.
• The site also claims there was a lot of frustration in AEW regarding TBS’ recent technical issues and the incorrect DVR listing that likely hurt Dynamite’s viewership this week.

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.