Rumor Roundup (Sept. 2, 2023): Cena vs. Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat AEW plan, Bray Wyatt, 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:

• According to WRKD Wrestling, WWE has discussed the possibility of booking John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes at some point during Cena’s return to the promotion over the next two months.
• Fightful Select indicates that Cena’s return to WWE was unexpected, as it primarily happened because of the SAG-AFTRA strike. There is “no concern” about John missing his advertised WWE dates even if the strike suddenly ends.
• Per PW Insider, Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat is indeed expected to appear on tonight’s episode of AEW Collision. It’s believed that he “will not be wrestling this weekend,” and will instead be part of angle that sets up Ricky Starks for a “top match” at All Out on Sunday in Chicago.
• Insider also mentions that “the announced attendance at All In: London was the 100% legitimate paid attendance, to the ticket.”
• This week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter says the initial idea for Bray Wyatt’s return to WWE was to build to a WrestleMania match with Uncle Howdy (Bo Dallas) but “plans ended up changing and Howdy was not being pushed at that level.”
• The WON goes on to state that Brock Lesnar “asked out” of a planned match against Wyatt at WrestleMania 39 because Lesnar “felt it was the wrong opponent for his character.” Brock’s decision to decline the match was “nothing personal.”
• It’s also noted that Alexa Bliss was “about to go back” to her Fiend-related supernatural gimmick when Wyatt was sidelined earlier this year.
• The Observer says AEW had “a major entrance” planned for Jim Ross at All In, but after the backstage altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry, JR “was told to just go out to ringside in a low-key manner.”

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.