What is the story about?
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 Fightful Select, AEW expects that Toni Storm won’t be cleared to wrestle again in 2026.
- The Wrestling Observer Newsletter heard that Bronson Reed’s injury “was the clincher” for WWE’s decision to go ahead with booking Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania 42. WWE originally planned to save the Rhodes/Orton program for after WrestleMania.
- Andrew Zarian claims there was talk backstage at SmackDown that “Tama Tonga was fined by WWE for posting a video of rehearsals last week.” It was said to be a “significant” fine. WWE apparently has an “unwritten rule” about not doing that.
- “One person close to the situation” told The Observer that Ronda Rousey’s surprise appearance at AEW Revolution “fit into Rousey’s vendetta against TKO” related to the shady negotiating tactics they used regarding compensation for the Gina Carano dream fight.
- Per Bodyslam.net, WWE has signed third-generation wrestler Marie Malenko (Dean Malenko’s daughter) after her tryout last month. She is expected to report to the Performance Center in Orlando soon.
- Earlier this week, WWE filed to trademark the names Jacari Ball, Veronica Haven, Gianna Capri, Anya Rune, and Max Abrams.
- After Will Ospreay was medically cleared a couple weeks ago, F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer said AEW’s original plan was to “announce that he was coming back when Wembley Stadium tickets were to go on sale.”