Rumor Roundup (April 18, 2026): Roman Reigns leaving WWE, WrestleMania 42 winners, Paige return, 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:

• Even though Roman Reigns teased leaving WWE if he loses against CM Punk at WrestleMania 42, PWInsider heard that Roman’s contract is not about to expire, and there are no signs that he is exiting the company any time soon.
• The odds at BetOnline indicate that Reigns, Rhea Ripley, Oba Femi, Liv Morgan, The Usos & LA Knight, GUNTHER, Randy Orton, Penta, Trick Williams, and Becky Lynch are favored to win their respective matches this weekend at WrestleMania.
• BodySlam+ heard that Paige’s new WWE contract is a multi-year deal.
• For whatever it’s worth, Seth Rollins told ESPN’s First Take that his surgically repaired shoulder is probably more like 80% or 90% good to go instead of 100% heading into his match tonight at WrestleMania.
• Busted Open’s Bubba Ray Dudley said “the boys in the locker room” all “hate” WWE’s decision to add Pat McAfee to the main event angle between Cody Rhodes and Orton at WrestleMania.
• Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian claims that “AEW Redemption” will be the name of a new pay-per-view event for All Elite Wrestling in 2026. That probably means AEW will run 10 PPV events this year, though it remains possible that AEW will rename one of its existing PPV events.
• AEW star Wardlow told BCP+ that he is “very close” to returning to the ring.
• Per F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer, the idea of Alberto Del Rio working for WWE or AEW is probably “dead” after his latest arrest for domestic violence. However, the belief is that he will “continue to get bookings in Mexico because he is a celebrity and has a history of drawing.”
• Meltzer also said even though ticket sales for WrestleMania 42 are down about 17% compared to last year, that won’t stop WWE from announcing a fake attendance number during the event that will be close to last year’s number.

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 with a grain of salt.