Rumor Look Back: Sept. 12 - 18, 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 12, 2022

• In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it’s noted all parties involved in the backstage brawl after AEW’s All Out event were told not to talk about what happened. There is a belief, however, that “some want to talk and tell their side of the story when they can.”
• I’m sure folks want to get stuff off their chests. I would bet CM Punk more so because it feels like the Elite’s side of things was out their more than Punk’s. (Not that his narrative didn’t hit the internet as well)
• Ringside News claims Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman have been adamant about refusing to allow WWE to turn the Tribal Chief character babyface at any point.
• That’s absolutely the right call. His character throughout his reign is a heel through and through. Trying to change it, at least before losing the title, would not work. It’s hard to forget the years that WWE refused to turn him heel. I think his heel run has him at a spot where if they wanted a babyface version of this character after his championship run is over, I think it would work.
• Speaking of Reigns, Dave Meltzer said in the WON that he was told Reigns’ next major match will be on the Saudi show and it won’t be against Seth Rollins or Kevin Owens.
• It was against Logan Paul. (1/2)
• PW Insider notes Rey & Dominik Mysterio were both in Asheville, North Carolina this past weekend, leading to speculation they may have shot an angle, or filmed something, at Edge’s house because that’s where he lives.
• They did not have anything at Edge’s house. Rhea & Dom did visit Rey’s house multiple times. (0/1)
• On his “Wrestling with Freddie” podcast, Freddie Prinze Jr. said he was outright told WWE forgot to the cut the feed at Clash at the Castle and we weren’t supposed to see Tyson Fury singing in the ring with Drew McIntyre.
• It was a weird look.
• Toxic Attraction appeared on SmackDown this week but they have not been called up to the main roster, claims Ringside News.
• They were not called up. (1/1)

September 13, 2022

• The story about The Young Bucks sending feelers to WWE came from Ryan Frederick, who covers MMA for Wrestling Observer. He wrote on The Board that he stands by his report, having heard it from multiple people. Frederick also insists it’s not a big deal: “It’s not like they actually reached out to WWE management. They told a friend in the company, a fellow wrestler, that they would be willing to listen to offers when their deals are up (I believe January 2024) and to let it be known.”
• I wonder if that friend/fellow wrestler was Kevin Owens. Even if they plan to stay with AEW, they should their due diligence and see what the offer is across the way.
• Meanwhile, one Fightful Select source swears they heard Matt & Nick Jackson asked to speak to someone in WWE management. While that hasn’t been confirmed, the rumor’s persisted within WWE for weeks.
• We’ll split the difference between they did vs. they didn’t reach out to management. (1/2)
• Wrestling Observer says AEW removed CM Punk, The Bucks & Kenny Omega from advertising for future events, including Nov. 19’s Full Gear PPV.
• The Elite worked Full Gear, losing to Death Triangle. (0/1)
• The reason Punk & The Elite won’t be telling their stories about the post-All Out brawl any time soon is the same reason it won’t be mentioned on AEW television, per Wrestling Observer Newsletter: “There still could be outside legal proceedings regarding the fight from different sides.”
• I wonder how long it’ll be until we start hearing the stories. And I wonder if they’ll be any legal action at one point. I suspect not since we’re six months out, but you never know.
• A PW Insider report on morale at WWE corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut notes that employees are “energized” after Vince McMahon’s resignation and feel much better about their work/life balance under new leadership.
• It’s probably not as good now given that he’s lurking around again.
• It was also noted workers are much more comfortable dealing with Nick Khan, Stephanie McMahon & Triple H, whereas “running into Vince was like running into the T-Rex from Jurassic Park, you didn’t want to call attention to yourself.”
• What a great environment.
• Insider reports that while rewrites of television shows still occur under Triple H, scripts are no longer being torn up late and completely rewritten. Writers feel they aren’t “hurrying up to wait” for Vince McMahon meetings that begin hours late or talk about “unimportant things” for a long time.
• It definitely sounds like the process is better until Triple H.

September 14, 2022

• WrestleVotes notes WWE is in a “complex” situation with the world titles Roman Reigns currently has because they want to go into WrestleMania next year with two different champions but don’t want him to lose a match. The creative is “open” for anything right now.
• They are not heading into Mania with two different champions.
• BeltFanDan claims new WWE tag team championship belts are coming and will have the “existing design, dual plated, black strap, and have a stacked, large WWE logo in the center.” Further, he claims the women’s belts will be getting “colored backing soon.”
• The Usos are still carrying around two belts. No change in the Women’s title either. (0/2)
• PW Insider says that WWE has just now moved Kevin Owens to the babyface side of their internal roster.
• He’s definitely a babyface. (1/1)
• Insider also says that everyone AEW suspended related to the backstage brawl after the All Out media scrum will remain suspended at least until the conclusion of the third-party investigation.
• The Elite were back in a couple months.
• Dave Meltzer said on Twitter that Brody King & Buddy Matthews are a tag team moving forward, no matter the status of Malakai Black. AEW has also applied to trademark “House of Black,” so the group will be continuing no matter his status with the company.
• Buddy took time off too. There was a time the House of Black was just Brody & Julia Hart. Then they came back as a group.

September 15, 2022

• The black and gold logo isn’t the only thing Triple H is bringing back to NXT. Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez reported that the upcoming Halloween Havoc show is listed internally as a TakeOver: “Hunter has brought the TakeOver name back, which had been banished by Vince [McMahon] and Kevin Dunn.”
• The TakeOver moniker is not back. (0/1)
• Ryan Katz will return to work at WWE soon, possibly even this week, per PW Insider. The site also says they’ve heard other members of Triple H’s old NXT team could follow Road Dogg & Katz back to the company “in some fashion over time.”
• This includes William Regal, who was in AEW at the time. (1/1)
• After Insider and Fightful Select reported that producer Pat Buck was working last night’s AEW taping, WOL’s Alvarez said he “believed” that Buck, Brandon Cutler, Christopher Daniels & Michael Nakazawa (who all reportedly attempted to break up the post-All Out brawl) were off suspension. The Elite, CM Punk & Ace Steel will likely remain suspended pending the results of the third-party investigation.
• It makes sense not to suspend the folks trying to keep the peace for too long.
• Most people thought Kenny Omega was in Japan to promote AEW Fight Forever at Tokyo Games Show, but AEW told Insider Omega is there “on his own and not for AEW.”
• I don’t know how much I buy that he was on his own to promote the company’s video game.
• Daniels is in Tokyo as well, but not in his capacity as a Talent Relations executive.
• Just chillin’ in Japan then.
• It’s not known if it’s a full time deal, but Fightful says Skye Blue is under contract to AEW. Blue hasn’t gotten the “... is All Elite” graphic yet, but independent promoters have been told AEW approval is required to book her.
• She’s on AEW programming pretty often. (1/1)

September 16, 2022

• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer summed up WWE’s scouting of women wrestlers as follows: “Pretty gymnasts, that’s what they want from the future of the women’s division.”
• We’ll see how it goes and if it’s a real homogenous roster or not.
• According to Deadline, Warner Bros. Discovery’s strategy for TNT and TBS involves an emphasis on cost-effective programming, and that “could include wrestling-themed shows, as AEW is a major draw” on those networks.
• It sounds like Warner continues to be happy with AEW. In fact they’re introducing a reality show and reportedly a third wrestling show.
• After the recent accusations EC3 and Patrick Clark (fka Velveteen Dream) made about one another, Sean Ross Sapp tweeted he’d heard Dream was “quietly suspended” for cocaine use during his time at WWE.
• Wrestlers doing coke sound very 80s/90s.
• Per PW Insider, Bayley, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai have “all been added to creative plans” for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown.
• Bayley defeated Raquel Rodriguez on this episode with the help of CTRL. (1/1)
• Meltzer mentioned that next Friday’s “Grand Slam” episode of AEW Rampage will be two hours long.
• The Grand Slam Rampages have both been two hours so far. (1/1)
• Fightful says Triple H wants to make sure the United States championship is seen as a “credible prize” on Raw. This is especially important given the part-time schedule of WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and his lack of appearances on the show.
• They have done a solid job of building the title up.
• During an interview on The Hannibal TV, D-Von Dudley said the reverend gimmick he used as a singles wrestler in 2002 was Vince McMahon’s way of getting back at the Catholic church for their numerous attacks on WWE programming as being bad for society.
• That sounds very Vince McMahon.

September 17, 2022

• Every version of the post-All Out brawl story has it that CM Punk threw the first punch. However, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports “the Punk side” claims he only did so to “beat [The Elite] to the inevitable punch that... Matt Jackson was going to throw.” Those on The Elite’s side “labeled it as a sucker punch.”
• Preemptive strike vs. sucker punch.
• The WON also clarified that Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh not only witnessed the fight, she came with the Young Bucks to Punk’s locker room. It’s believed she was there to “keep things professional,” which obviously didn’t happen.
• Yeah, that was a bit of a fail right there.
• Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez mentioned there was “an internal investigation within AEW sometime in the last year” that “went on for months.”
• Did we ever learn what this was about?
• However, Alvarez has received indications that the current investigation into the All Out brawl is “nearing the end.” More specifically, Alvarez was told to expect news on “what’s going on” with the suspended AEW talent (Punk, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks, Ace Steel) very soon.
• Ace Steel was quietly released a month later. The Elite’s return wasn’t announced for a month after that. So I wouldn’t say “very soon.” (0/1)
• Finally, Alvarez clarified that Omega’s controversial line during last month’s AEW backstage meeting was said in jest and not serious.
• The question is did the talent interpret it that way?
• According to The US Sun, there are discussions in WWE about inducting Vince McMahon into their Hall of Fame next year during WrestleMania weekend. There is uncertainty about whether it is too soon for that to happen given the disgraceful circumstances that led to his resignation from the company.
• After he bulldozed his way back, that was likely off the table. It shouldn’t have been on the table for this year even if he didn’t.
• Based on a report from Fightful, it sounds like Shotzi could be getting her tank back soon on SmackDown.
• She did. (1/1)
• WWE creative currently has nothing for Veer Mahaan, per Fightful Select.
• He’s back in NXT.

This week: 9/15 - 60%

Overall: 4,492/7,880 - 57.0%

Have a great week, everyone!