Speculating on the rumors surrounding professional wrestling is probably the favorite pastime of many fans, 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 note: Rumors are just rumors. None of this has been confirmed as fact, just pro wrestling rumors being spread. We track the accuracy of rumors here in a weekly feature called Rumor Look Back. Remember to take everything with a grain of salt.
Rumor of the day:
Ibou of WrestlePurists suggests that Seth Rollins vs. GUNTHER is currently being planned for WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Rock will appear at WrestleMania 41 “in some capacity,” even if he doesn’t wrestle. However, there are “people at the top” who expect him to fight on this card, despite the uncertainty at the moment. If The Rock is able to compete in a match at WrestleMania 41, he could probably do whatever he wants, even if it disrupts current plans for booking Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena . Naturally, The Rock wanted a “WWE Title vs. People’s Title” match after his stint at WrestleMania 40. According to PW Insider, the latest “talking word among WWE talent” is that Drew McIntyre will be leaving Raw for professional wrestling. Smackdown roster. Ibou followed this up by pointing out that Sami Zayn is also expected to move to SmackDown and be on the same brand as Kevin Owens. Fightful Select says there will be a lot of movement between the two shows for some time, even if some WWE talent transitions from one brand to the other permanently. According to Fightful, “I’m So Excited” will be a recurring theme song for AEW Dynamite going forward, and not a one-off. The change had been planned well in advance of last Wednesday’s show. F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer says that NXT Level Up will be “replaced by something called NXT Evolve.” This is “a project of Gabe Sapolsky” and is expected to come to fruition “within a few months.” PW Insider has heard a lot of rumors recently about the potential return of Evolve in WWE. This includes the idea that “taping will take place at the Performance Center utilizing WWE ID talent,” but it’s not clear where it will be broadcast. Some independent talent believes these recordings will take place in late January or early February. While discussing SmackDown’s new blue ring mat, Fightful said WWE was experimenting with another black ring mat earlier in the day. It featured sponsor logos such as Fortnite, Riyadh Season, and Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer. This ring mat was not used on SmackDown, but may appear on other WWE shows such as Raw on Netflix. Insiders say Ric Flair was originally scheduled to make a cameo appearance on tonight’s episode of Collision in Charlotte, North Carolina, but he is no longer scheduled to appear on the show. According to an insider, last night’s Smackdown saw “a lot of changes made to the opening.” The original idea was for the show to start with a promo from Kevin Owens, with an interruption from Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. At one point, there was talk that Jey Uso would be involved. Insiders were told that Tiffany Stratton’s Money in the Bank cashout had been “planned for weeks” and was a “closely kept secret.” This was specifically designed for SmackDown’s expanded three-hour format to begin with a “big moment,” but many didn’t know it was happening. Fightful has confirmed that WWE Royal Rumble 2026 will be held in Saudi Arabia. Sources said the venue layout for the event had been in development for several months. The venue has not yet been confirmed, but current signs point to Riyadh.
If you hear any interesting rumors that you would like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. This is just a rumor and has not been confirmed as fact, so please take it as such. And keep track of how often rumors turn out to be true by checking out our weekly Rumor Recap here.
