Rumor Roundup (June 16, 2023): CM Punk interview, AEW drama, Carlito WWE return, 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:

• Wrestling Observer Live’s Bryan Alvarez said CM Punk’s controversial interview with ESPN will be released today. Alvarez added that Punk’s interview was “the talk of the locker room” at this week’s AEW Dynamite taping.
• Alvarez also said, “If you think that perhaps all of the strife and divisiveness in the locker room has been cleared up after that interview, well, it’s not.”
• Even though Roman Reigns was presented with a new WWE Universal championship belt two weeks ago, sources told Sports Illustrated that WWE is still considering the idea of having Paul Heyman carry around Roman’s previous two belts.
• Carlito apparently called independent wrestling promoter Devon Nicholson and canceled his booking for a July 15 show because he claims to have signed with WWE. Fightful was told that Carlito pulled himself out of “multiple upcoming indie dates,” not just this one.
• According to BWE, IYO SKY is a “top contender” to win the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, but some other ideas are “on the table” and could begin on tonight’s SmackDown.
• As far as the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match is concerned, BWE claims that LA Knight and Damian Priest are the two favorites to win it, but the decision likely won’t be made until the day of the show.

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.