Rumor Roundup (June 22, 2023): AEW divided, Punk/KENTA, WWE moves, Mercedes movie role, 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:

• During an appearance on the POST x Wrestlenomics podcast, Dave Meltzer said the “divisiveness” within AEW is “at a pretty bad point again” after CM Punk’s ESPN interview & return promo. “Both sides” apparently blame the other for not sticking with an agreement to keep their issues in-house.
• Meltzer mentioned that “one of the top guys” who was told he’d only have to “deal with Punk” at PPVs was on Dynamite last night along with Punk.
• KENTA’s rumored Forbidden Door match with CM Punk is off after “KENTA expressed to NJPW and AEW” that he wasn’t doing the match, per Fightful Select.
• Also from beyond Fightful’s paywall: Jeff Hardy will be taking time off from AEW for the next few weeks, as he’s unable to travel to Canada due to some of his past legal issues.
• There have been “ongoing” talks within WWE about signing “a certain tag team” from New Japan and promoting someone from developmental to “join a certain group,” according to BWE.
• Sony had Mercedes Moné “circled” for an unspecified role in Bad Bunny’s planned Spider-Man universe film El Muerto, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It’s a moot point right now though, as the movie has been taken off the studio’s schedule while the writers are on strike.

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.