Rumor Roundup (July 12, 2023): WWE value, The Bloodline story, Raw backstage argument, 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:

• PW Insider notes that folks in WWE feel like the SAG-AFTRA strike is happening at the perfect time, as the company becomes more valuable as an entertainment property by simply being a non-union production.
• They also say WWE was ecstatic with The Bloodline story as it played out on SmackDown last week and many believe there could be a long tease for Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa moving forward.
• Regarding the backstage argument after Raw, Fightful Select says Kevin Owens left almost immediately for other obligations and Seth Rollins got “cracked pretty hard” in the match. Again, though, everything seems to be fine and it appears this was a fairly normal type of situation in a business like this.
• On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said WWE is doing the best they’ve ever done in merchandise sales, saying “merchandise has never been higher, ever. Not in the Attitude Era, not in the Hulk Hogan era.”
• Carlito was spotted in Pittsburgh (where WWE does medical screening) recently and PW Insider says that while WWE had been targeting last week for his return it worked out that he didn’t because of The Bloodline’s story taking up so much time on SmackDown. He should be back on TV soon.
• According to Fightful, Warner Bros Discovery is much more interested in where AEW Collision ranks relative to the competition each Saturday night than they are in the show’s number of viewers or rating.

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.