Rumor Roundup (May 4, 2023): New WWE rule, AEW Dark cancelled, Tony Khan vs. reporter, 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 Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez, “there is a new rule that WWE talent are not allowed to take pictures of their injuries and there is an absolute you are not allowed to take pictures of any blood whatsoever.”
• In a follow-up report on AEW ending Dark and Elevation before it launches Collision, Fightful Select says it’s expected AEW and Warner Bros Discovery will announce a “new or altered” television deal this month.
• While that deal will make all AEW content WBD exclusive, Fightful believes it won’t include ROH TV. Furthermore, talent the promotions are considering signing “will still get opportunities, it will just more than likely be on the Ring of Honor brand.”
• Tony Khan updated the pre-sale numbers for All In yesterday, tweeting that AEW has now sold more than 43,000 tickets, generating over $5.7 million in revenue.
• Earlier, TK shot down ESPN reporter Mike Coppinger’s claim that Wembley would only be configured to seat 40,000. The AEW owner replied, “LIES. What a load of crap. Tell your agent Nick Khan to shove it up his ass.” Coppinger is represented by CAA, which NK left to join WWE in 2020, but it’s not clear if was his agent.
• Speaking of Nick Khan, he said on yesterday’s investor call that WWE will be opening up more sections of Detroit’s Ford Field to meet demand for SummerSlam tickets.
• An interesting “what if?”... last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter claims that as of last November, WWE’s idea was to crown the new World Heavyweight champion on night one of WrestleMania, with Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre at the time tabbed for the title match. A three-way involving Cody Rhodes was also considered in case they got The Rock to face Roman Reigns at SoFi.

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.