Rumor Roundup (Mar. 18, 2023): Rousey change, WrestleMania 39 plans, Saraya fine, WWE HOF, 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:

• Per F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer, the plan for Ronda Rousey to challenge for the WWE women’s tag team titles at WrestleMania 39 has been nixed. However, Rousey is still going to compete on the card in a different match.
• According to WrestleVotes, the men’s four way tag match at WrestleMania 39 is currently planned to be the Street Profits vs. Ricochet & Braun Strowman vs. Viking Raiders vs. Alpha Academy.
• Votes says the women’s four way tag match is currently slated to be Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan vs. Shotzi & Natalya vs. Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Carmella & Chelsea Green.
• The Wrestling Observer Newsletter says Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley main eventing night one of WrestleMania 39 “appears to be official at this point.”
• As for why Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. The Usos won’t be in the main event despite the popularity of their storyline, Meltzer was told “there were political reasons in play to where Flair vs. Ripley would most likely get that spot.”
• Saraya’s fine for saying “twats” on Dynamite was legitimate, and the money went to the AEW Together community outreach program, per Fightful Select. The site also reported that she privately apologized, and that talent was sent an email after Wednesday’s Dynamite informing them Saraya was “fined for profanity and using a middle finger without informing the coach of the segment.”
• Multiple members of the WWE creative team told Fightful that Vince McMahon “repeatedly” tried to break up The New Day over the years, despite Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods being against a split. One example given was that Vince wanted Xavier Woods to turn on Kofi Kingston after winning King of the Ring in 2021, because that’s “what a King would do.”
• PW Insider says WWE will induct five people into the Hall of Fame this year. In response to a question from a reader, the site indicated Umaga, Chyna, and Michelle McCool will not be in this year’s class.

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.