Rumor Roundup (Aug. 22, 2023): Judgment Day split, Cash Wheeler arrest, LA Knight push, 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:

• Asked about The Judgment Day in light of their current storyline and this report that plans call for a current member to exit the group, Twitter account BWE said that no one is leaving “for the time being”.
• Nick Hausman asked his AEW contacts if they knew about Cash Wheeler’s alleged road rage incident & assault charge before the news of his arrest spread last Friday, and no one he spoke to (a group which included “several notable AEW roster members and top members of management”) had heard anything.
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter says that when AEW brought Ace Steel back he was given “back pay from the time he was let go, as a concession to [CM] Punk when he agreed to come back.” Fightful’s report last week on Steel’s return also mentioned they’d heard he was paid for the time between his firing and re-hiring.
• Britt Baker “has certainly been working banged up”, per Sean Ross Sapp in a Fightful Select Q&A. Sapp didn’t know specifics, and said Baker takes pride in working through injury but “a lot of people have noticed it.”
• There’s talk backstage at AEW of Jade Cargill returning soon, according to the Observer Newsletter. Cargill attended Kulture City’s event with the AEW Community team last weekend.
• Billy Corgan told Chris Van Vliet he lobbied for LA Knight (then Eli Drake) to get a bigger push while they were both at TNA, but “the office” had concerns about his size.
• The WON also reported Mauro Ranallo is in talks to call the action for the new Japanese women’s wrestling promotion that’s planning to launch with a show in New York next month.

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.