Rumor Roundup (Nov. 9, 2023): LA Knight heat, NXT/CW deal, AEW finances, 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:

• Coming out of Crown Jewel, Booker T overall had positive things to say about LA Knight on his Hall of Fame podcast. But Booker also put rumors about Knight having issues backstage back into circulation when he mentioned he’s “heard guys say, ‘LA Knight, he’s got a bad attitude. I don’t know about this guy, he’s got a bad attitude.’”
• A “broadcast source” told PW Insider The CW’s deal with WWE for NXT rights is “in the area” of $35-37 million per year.
• Current plans call for NXT to remain live on Tuesdays from the Performance Center, but Insider’s heard WWE is willing to discuss moving nights if The CW needs it to. WWE could take NXT on the road when it makes financial sense to do so, but a source told the site “we aren’t there yet.”
• The CW had significant discussions with Dave Marquez’s United Wrestling Network but those stalled when “WWE came into the picture in a strong way 4-6 weeks ago”. PW Insider hasn’t been able to confirm any of the NWA rumors.
• In an interview with SEScoops, Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston said he’s “confident” AEW is not currently profitable: “They need to make $200 million a year in media rights to get to profitability.” AEW’s current deal with WBD is estimated at $50-70 million per year.
• As of yesterday, Andrew Zarian heard that AEW won’t air an episode of Collision the week of their new Worlds End PPV.
• WWE considered running NXT Stand & Deliver on the Thursday before WrestleMania 40, per WrestleVotes. “Some were not in favor” however, and those voices obviously won out.

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.