Rumor Roundup (Sept. 4, 2023): Punk/Regal altercation, Edge to AEW, WWE face turn, 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:

• Multiple sources told Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net about an incident between CM Punk and William Regal that occurred after Regal’s AEW debut in 2022. Punk allegedly refused to shake Regal’s hand, and got in his face to tell him he didn’t like or trust him & that he was a “stooge for Triple H.”
• Regarding talk of CM Punk returning to WWE (where Regal again works), Fightful Select’s WWE sources say they didn’t expect AEW to fire Punk and therefore had no expectation he’d be available. That report also noted Punk still has heat with multiple high-level people at WWE. In a separate tweet, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp further specified that “a lot of top people on the roster in WWE that don’t want him [Punk] there.”
• On the same topic, Dave Meltzer said on WOR that while WWE didn’t pursue Punk when he was pursuing an AEW buyout ten months ago, they might when he’s a true free agent: “You just don’t know. It’s different people in charge. It’s a different time.”
• Sports Illustrated’s report on Punk’s firing mentions that Warner Bros Discovery CEO/president David Zaslav was made aware of the move before it became public, as “Punk was a major selling point” for Collision.
• Jim Ross might not think so, but last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter said “those in WWE” expect Edge will end up on AEW.
• The Twitter/X account doesn’t specify a name, but BWE says “a big babyface turn is coming up soon for ‘one of the brightest talents’” in WWE.

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.