Rumor Look Back: Sept. 5 - 11, 2022

Welcome to the weekly Rumor Look Back, where we look at the rumors from six months ago and see which played out as originally stated. Let’s jump right to it.

September 5, 2022

• Fightful Select says Bray Wyatt has a standing offer from a startup wrestling company, and it’s believed that company may be run by Freddie Prinze Jr.
• Freddie wanted Karrion Kross to be his top guy. But then when Triple H started bringing folks back, it looked to put a crimp in Freddie’s plans.
• They also say there was at least some interest in Wyatt from AEW but that obviously hasn’t gone anywhere.
• I’m sure they at least inquired but he probably carried a big price tag so they had to be totally committed.
• PW Insider says Paul Heyman was indeed at Clash at the Castle working backstage. He’s still out selling injury and it’s unclear when he’ll return.
• He was back soon enough. He’s rather integral to the Bloodline story.
• They also say Joseph Park produced the well received Gunther vs. Sheamus match at Clash at the Castle and he’s been receiving rave reviews for his work within WWE in this capacity for some time now.
• That may have been WWE’s match of the year. Good on the former Abyss.
• Although there were rumors that Warner Bros Discovery was unhappy about how much swearing was happening on AEW, Fightful notes that was taken out of context from an earlier meeting and they’re happy with current programming.
• I think one or two f-bombs may have sneaked through since this.
• Changes in Warner Bros Discovery strategy for TBS and TNT may threaten AEW’s planned Rhodes to the Top-replacement focusing on AEW couples that was scheduled to debut late this year, per Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
• They have a new reality show called AEW: All Access. A reality show has to be pretty cheap to produce so I don’t see why Warner wouldn’t want to go forward. (A little behind the scenes - I finished writing all of this when I realized I wrote “realty show” each time instead of “reality show.” Though I wouldn’t be against a show featuring Danhuasen selling different properties.)

September 6, 2022

• Another report on the fight backstage at All Out, this one from PW Insider, says the altercation started when The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega went to CM Punk’s locker room to confront him about his comments during the media scrum. No one the site heard from indicated who threw the first punch.
• I think that’s still like the Shot Heard Round the World - we don’t know who tossed that first haymaker. And I doubt we’ll see it on AEW: All Access, but man if we did, that show would do numbers. Obviously we won’t see the brawl itself - that was a joke. But I wonder if it will be alluded to at points, though I don’t believe so given these reality formats usually like to tell stories that wrap up weekly.
• Fightful Select’s latest on the fight says the chair thrown by Ace Steel knocked out or “rocked” Nick Jackson, and left him marked up.
• Ace Steel was released after all this.
• PW Insider says the locker room is divided into Punk and Elite sides. Speaking of those sides, neither FTR or Hangman Page were present for the “melee” because they all left shortly after the PPV ended since they weren’t scheduled for the scrum.
• Probably for the better they weren’t around because they’d probably have been in that locker room.
• “AEW is being very tight-lipped about the situation,” says Insider. Their sources believe “the company is likely trying to determine where blame should be placed and what their course of action is going forward.”
• They are still tight lipped about the situation six months out. There also may be NDAs that prevent folks from talking for awhile too.
• Kevin Owens tweeted a photo of his WrestleMania 38 main event match with Stone Cold Steve Austin around the time of the All Out scrum. It’s widely believed to be a show of support for his friends the Bucks and a shot at Punk, who wanted a similar spot while with WWE.
• It certainly is possible. He’ll never confirm it, but it’s possible.
• Christian Cage & Jungle Boy’s match at All Out was shortened because of a “serious” injury Christian is dealing with, according to Wrestling Observer Radio.
• Christian was out of action for while due to said injury. They only just finished up this program. (1/1)

September 7, 2022

• There’s a growing rumor, pieced together from multiple outlets like Fightful and the Observer, that CM Punk may be fired by AEW soon.
• He’s still employed by them. I very much wonder how it finally ends. (0/1)
• There’s also word going around that Punk suffered an injury, possibly a torn pec, either in the match with Jon Moxley at All Out or during the fight backstage following the infamous media scrum.
• That is accurate. AEW never confirmed it (or has said anything about Punk since the incident). But no one has disputed it six months later, and it was referenced when he was announcing an MMA match. (1/1)
• Dave Meltzer says the current belief is nobody involved in the fight will be at Dynamite this week, with other stars who weren’t originally booked — Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley among them — showing up to replace them.
• That’s accurate. Punk, the Elite, Steel, and some other folks who were in there trying to break up the fight, were suspended as they figured out what was what. Folks like Christopher Daniels who was trying to break things up were soon back. (1/1)
• The Wrestling News claims “several AEW personnel who were in the room for the CM Punk/Elite altercation have been suspended.“
• Yup. (1/1)
• They also say that Chris Jericho tried to calm everyone down after the initial altercation. Further, Kenny Omega and CM Punk “engaged in talks” later in the evening but it’s “not believed to have been fruitful.”
• I’m looking forward to the rumors about Punk’s dog Larry.
• Despite his return on Monday Night Raw, Braun Strowman will be a babyface on the SmackDown roster going forward, per PW Insider.
• That is the case. He’s been teaming with Ricochet. (1/1)
• There’s a belief, according to Insider, that Malakai Black, who hinted he might be leaving at All Out, could be taking some time off from pro wrestling, as he’s been “dealing with some personal issues.” He’s been removed from the AEW roster page.
• It wasn’t a super prolonged period time as he’s since returned and won the Trios titles with the House of Black. But he was away for a bit.

September 8, 2022

• Multiple reports say that AEW’s Chief Legal Counsel Megha Parekh witnessed at least some of the backstage brawl after the All Out media scrum.
• You always want to fight your coworkers when the legal team watching.
• The internal investigation will be led by AEW General Counsel Chris Peck, per The Wrestling News. Everyone that was involved in or witness to the fight is being interviewed, and its believed those interviews are being recorded.
• I wonder when we’ll actually get the full story. It seems like everyone involved has been tight lipped, probably via instruction.
• Thunder Rosa’s husband and Sean Ross Sapp’s AEW sources all refuted a report Thunder Rosa asked AEW to release her from her contract.
• She’s out injured but currently working with the Spanish announce team.
• In an interview with SportsKeeda, EC3 claimed Velveteen Dream set up a phone in the bathroom of a party EC3 hosted so he could film men’s genitals as they used the toilet. Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp and freelance journalist David Bixenspan both acknowledged the story as being a long-standing rumor they’d heard but couldn’t confirm.
• Dream eventually refuted this. Everything about this was ugly.
• On his To Be The Man podcast, Ric Flair said, “They are making a movie about my life and I know that they’ve talked to Bradley Cooper.” He stressed the Academy Award-nominated actor has not been cast, just that there have been “talks.”
• Cooper is an interesting choice.

September 9, 2022

• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer said that CM Punk threw the first punch in the backstage brawl with The Elite that took place during the All Out media scrum.
• Very possible, and I think word on him throwing a preemptive strike because he knew it was going down persisted. But also know that Meltzer was likely hearing a lot from the Young Bucks so this represented their side of the story.
• Meltzer also claims that Ace Steel thought Kenny Omega was trying to crossface him during the fight, so that’s why he bit Kenny.
• The biting really put it all over the top.
• There is fan speculation that CM Punk went on his tirade at the media scrum because he knew he was seriously injured and was going to be out for a long time. Meltzer indicates this isn’t true; Punk planned to go off on Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, and the Young Bucks independent of his injury status.
• Yeah, this did not sound like a spur of the moment promo. He had singled out a reporter in the crowd to use as a launch into his tirade.
• Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez stated there was a “rah rah” meeting with the AEW roster prior to this week’s Dynamite, with a stronger feeling of locker room unity coming out of it.
• Sounds like after all of this, the culture in the locker room started to right itself.
• According to Fightful, many AEW roster members said the backstage drama between Punk and The Elite was “out of sight, out of mind” during Dynamite, with the wrestlers there focused on just having a good show.
• It’s good that folks were able to refocus on the task at hand.
• Per Fightful, there was mutual interest between AEW and Bobby Fish in signing a new contract, but it didn’t happen due to financial disagreements. It sounds like Fish and AEW remain on good terms even though his contract expired.
• They never ran Undisputed vs. the Elite. Given where things are in AEW, with O’Reilly still out injured, Cole just getting back, and the fact Cole & Kenny are both babyfaces, it wouldn’t have been in the cards for awhile anyway.
• WWE promoted Shawn Michaels to “Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative,” according to CBS Sports.
• He’s very involved in NXT, which is what likely earned him this contract.

September 10, 2022

• WrestlingNews.co was told there are no plans for Roman Reigns to lose the WWE Universal championship in 2022. Triple H is sticking by Vince McMahon’s original plan for Reigns to walk into WrestleMania 39 as champion for a match against The Rock. The idea is for Reigns to beat The Rock and then lose the title sometime after WrestleMania.
• He held the title, but the Rock didn’t end up being the path. It’ll be Cody Rhodes instead. (1/2)
• On a related note, Dave Meltzer writes in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE wants to make Reigns “the legend for this generation.”
• They’re doing a damn good job of it.
• Regarding the next WWE Draft, Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian heard that WWE “wants to do it after football,” which presumably means it won’t happen in 2022.
• It did not happen in 2022. (1/1)
• Multiple outlets have debunked the claim that the Young Bucks literally “kicked the door down” ahead of their backstage fight with CM Punk at All Out. It was just an expression to indicate they aggressively entered his dressing room.
• A shame they didn’t double superkick the door before the walked in.
• MJF is among the “neutral parties” (along with Megha Parekh) being interviewed as part of the investigation into the post-All Out brawl, per WON.
• MJF being an island unto himself helped his case here.
• While Punk has been rubbing people on the AEW roster the wrong way for a while, a Fightful source said blaming him for all locker room issues is “unfair.”
• It’s not just one man that’s going to be the source of issues. But it’s possible he was a big factor.
• As he mentioned in his promo on Dynamite, Fightful Select reports Jon Moxley was scheduled to take time off after All Out, returning when AEW is in his hometown of Cincinnati in October. Instead, he returned to help the lead the pre-show talent meeting and take part in the World title tournament.
• That man still hasn’t gotten his time off. The frustration with that is probably why he’s turned heel.
• The WON mentions that Drew McIntyre “didn’t know the show was still being broadcast” during his post-match interaction with Tyson Fury at Clash at the Castle.
• This makes sense. Otherwise, him awkwardly singing after a heartbreaking loss to Roman was a weird move to broadcast to everyone.

This week: 7/9 - 78%

Overall: 4,483/7,865 - 57.0%

Have a great week, everyone!