Rumor Roundup (Sept. 22, 2023): WWE talent cuts, Raw leaving USA, Moxley concussion, 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 The Hollywood Reporter, WWE’s new TV deal for SmackDown on the USA Network means “the end of Raw and NXT on USA.” A source “familiar with the Raw discussions” told the outlet that Raw has a very active market, with “traditional linear networks, streaming services and ‘unexpected players’ all interested.”
• The Wall Street Journal says WWE’s new SmackDown TV deal is worth 1.4 billion dollars over the course of its five year duration.
• Fightful Select indicates that yesterday’s WWE talent cuts were not discussed under Triple H’s leadership. The cuts are instead directly tied to WWE’s merger with UFC.
• The site also says that some members of the roster were frustrated WWE made these cuts on the same day as the announcement of the new lucrative TV deal. There are wrestlers who mistakenly “thought the days of mass cuts were behind them, and deals would simply be allowed to expire.”
• As far as the main roster releases are concerned, BWE was told that Mustafa Ali is “the only mutual agreement.” Fightful indicates that his deal was originally set to expire in spring or summer 2024.
• Regarding this week’s AEW’s Grand Slam TV taping at New York City’s Arthur Ashe Stadium, PW Insider says there are “early plans for AEW to return next year with the working idea of the Stadium being a PPV site instead of a TV taping.”
• Jon Moxley told people close to him that he’s doing okay after wrestling with a concussion on Dynamite, per Sean Ross Sapp. AEW President Tony Khan checked on Moxley after the match was over, and Mox didn’t need to go to the hospital.
• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer thinks there is a good chance that Christian Cage wins the TNT title from Luchasaurus on this Saturday’s Collision because “there are people very, very high on Christian right now” in AEW.

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.