Rumor Roundup (Aug. 16, 2023): More CM Punk drama, The Rock in WWE, All In tickets, 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:

• Fightful Select is now saying CM Punk and Jack Perry had an argument, that may have simply been a disagreement, backstage at Collision in Canada. Perry was there to film a segment and wanted to use real glass and Punk apparently thought he wanted that so “he wouldn’t have to come to work the next week, which he sees as a big problem in the company.” Punk’s claim is Perry “was throwing a temper tantrum.” More on this here.
• Meanwhile, Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that two people, “who aren’t names anyone would come up with in this discussion,” have told him the whole situation is a ticking time bomb that will blow up soon if something isn’t done about it.
• For what it’s worth, Brian Gewirtz said on The Masked Man Show that he would be shocked if The Rock appeared on WWE television during the SAG-AFTRA strike. He does, however, expect him back for a storyline someday.
• WrestleTix is now saying AEW has distributed 80,056 tickets for All In, which puts them above SummerSlam 1992 and very close to WrestleMania 32.
• During a chat with Torg & Elliott, Mark Henry seemed to let slip that The Elite’s recent new contracts with AEW are 4-year deals.
• There’s speculation Paul Wight could be making his return to in-ring action for AEW, possibly as Captain Insano, based on this Instagram post.

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.