Rumor Roundup (Aug. 2, 2023): Randy Orton update, SummerSlam talent, Rousey/Baszler, 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 says Randy Orton does indeed intend to return to wrestling and he’s been lifting — and got huge from it — but he hasn’t taken any bumps or done any in-ring training like that. What’s more, there have been no creative discussions for him just yet or if there have, like for a SummerSlam return, it’s been kept quiet.
• They also say Liv Morgan, Zoey Stark, Baron Corbin, Titus O’Neil and Maxxine Dupri are all scheduled to be in Detroit for SummerSlam this weekend.
• PW Torch notes that Jeremy Borash and Paul Heyman were responsible for putting together the outstanding video packages on Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler on Monday Night Raw this week.
• According to WrestleVotes, Kid Rock will be featured in the cold open for SummerSlam this year.
• WWE originally planned to have Rhea Ripley squash Zelina Vega at Backlash earlier this year, per Fightful. Vega’s prominent role on SmackDown since, which included a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match, is said to be due to her performance in Puerto Rico and the reaction she received there.
• On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that Ilja Dragunov isn’t going to the main roster anytime soon.
• Meltzer also speculated on WOR that Matt Riddle’s loss to Ludwig Kaiser on Raw this week was indicative of WWE being unwilling to push him right now, possibly due to his personal issues outside of the ring.
• Thunder Rosa is training regularly in preparation for a return to the ring, says the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

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.