Rumor Roundup (Feb. 20, 2023): Triple H not underwhelmed, Jay White creative, CM Punk, 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 Fightful Select, the rumors of Triple H being underwhelmed by wrestlers he brought back aren’t accurate and, in fact, many of those brought back were told roster depth was a big reason for their return.
• WrestleVotes told GiveMeSport that “Triple H tasked the creative team with coming up with ideas for Jay White’s debut, should he join WWE.” That report also claimed Kota Ibushi’s name came up at a recent meeting about potential free agent signings.
• A rumor apparently went around about Ace Steel being at Royal Rumble to negotiate CM Punk’s return to WWE. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter says that Steel wasn’t at the Rumble, and that Punk is still under contract to AEW.
• Per Fightful, WWE is still interested in bringing back the Authors of Pain and Paul Ellering is “heading up negotiating the deal.”
• The Wrestling Observer says that Riho could be back in AEW “as early as next week or soon thereafter.”
• On the FTR with Dax Harwood podcast, Dax said that even though he and Cash Wheeler are taking time off from AEW right now, they would return early if Tony Khan asks them to.
• Bodyslam.net says Colby Corino signed a contract with WWE last week and he will report to NXT “very soon.”

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.