Rumor Roundup (Sept. 1, 2023): WWE Payback title matches, AEW crowd revolt fears, Cena/Angle, 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:

• Based on the latest lines from online sportsbooks like BetOnline, no titles are expected to change hands Saturday at WWE Payback. Austin Theory has the best odds of any challenger at 3/1; Raquel Rodriguez the worst at 10/1.
• After an earlier PW Torch story mentioned concern within AEW about how the All Out crowd would react if CM Punk isn’t on this weekend’s PPV, the site’s live report from Dynamite included that Tony Khan “got a mix of cheers and boos” when he appeared in the arena. It was also said Khan only came out once on Wednesday, whereas he’s appeared multiple times at past Chicago shows when he was universally cheered.
• Kurt Angle told Chris Van Vliet that he asked Vince McMahon if he could face John Cena for his retirement match to complete the circle from Cena debuting against him in 2002. McMahon told Angle he’d have to finish his program with Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35 and could face Cena at WrestleMania 36, but Angle didn’t want to wait another year to retire.
• Regarding AEW’s Wrestledream PPV, Dave Meltzer pointed out on Wrestling Observer Radio that New Japan has a show booked for Korakuen Hall on the same date with big names like Okada, Naito & Tanahashi already advertised. Meltzer did mention Will Ospreay as someone who's not booked for Oct. 1 in Tokyo that AEW could bring in for their Antonio Inoki tribute show.
• This year’s WWE Tribute to the Troops special will likely tape after the Dec. 8 SmackDown in Providence, per Wrestlevotes.
• Paul Ellering was “heavily involved” in AOP’s WWE return negotiations, according to Fightful Select. PW Insider also notes that discussions about using AOP in NXT include Ellering as their manager again.
• NWA Powerrr will have an upgraded look next Tuesday. Insider reports that Billy Corgan has invested in “major” production enhancements that will improve entrances “and more”.
• During his time in WWE, Ryback heard that Vince McMahon had arenas bugged so he would “know what the **** is going on with the talent”. The Big Guy would purposely “talk **** about” management into mics he knew were by the ring. It’s not clear if this has anything to do with those missed calls from Stamford...

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.