Rumor Roundup (Mar. 4, 2023): Lesnar farewell, Punk vs. Hangman, Goldberg, 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:

• A PW Insider Elite report on Brock Lesnar turning down a WrestleMania match with Bray Wyatt included that Lesnar was saying farewell to a few people backstage at Raw last Monday, and telling them that he was “finishing up”. The site emphasizes it’s not clear what Brock meant by the remark, and that it doesn’t “necessarily” mean Lesnar is done or even taking a break after WrestleMania.
• A message board rumor recently claimed Hangman Page was planned to beat CM Punk and retain the AEW World title at Double of Nothing last year until Punk lobbied Tony Khan to make him champ, but Dave Meltzer wrote in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter the story “is not true. Punk was always winning that match.”
• Meltzer noted that WWE doesn’t owe Goldberg any more matches on his “very lucrative deal.” Goldberg wants to wrestle again, but he “can’t work anywhere else” until his WWE contract expires.
• Regarding WWE’s ongoing efforts to pursue a sale of the company, Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston says Endeavor and Comcast “both seem off the table” as potential buyers.
• There was some frustration among wrestlers and independent promoters about talent that was flown into Orlando for last weekend’s Ring of Honor taping but not used, according to The Observer. People weren’t too upset, however, as wrestlers were paid more than they would have been on the indie shows, and promoters know any exposure their regulars get on ROH TV will be good for future business.
• Per Meltzer, the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is still planned to take place as scheduled after the Mar. 31 episode of SmackDown “even though there has been no talk about it nor any names mentioned.”
• PW Insider also reported that Eddie Edwards signed a new contract with Impact. Terms weren’t disclosed, but Edwards later confirmed the news with the site.

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.