Rumor Roundup: Leaked WrestleMania plans, Rumble favorites, Rock/Rhodes, 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:

• Regarding the much discussed SI report on WWE’s WrestleMania 40 plans, Wrestlevotes checked with their sources and believes the three big matches discussed in it “could absolutely happen in Philadelphia”. However, thinking they’re “set in stone” is “a little naive.”
• WWE isn’t happy with the SI report though, “especially labeling it as ‘sources close to Triple H,’ as if he’d be so open with this type of specific information.”
• SI named Bayley and Gunther as favorites to win Saturday’s Royal Rumble matches, and the latest odds from Bet Online now reflect that. Bayley passed Becky Lynch as the women’s favorite, and Gunther now has the same odds in the men’s match as existing favorite CM Punk.
• In a report on a moment Cody Rhodes & The Rock shared backstage at Raw on Jan. 1 that was captured by a WWE photographer and Rock’s team, Fightful Select says “the nature of the exchange” was that Rock supports Cody and what he’s been doing. Their sources say Rocky has “long been a proponent” of Rhodes, even while he was in AEW.
• Those sources “got the feeling that The Rock wasn’t there to ‘stand in the way of anything’”, but the moment happened before Rock’s promo on the show and “most didn’t know his ‘Head of the Table’ line was coming.”
• In his new role as TKO board member, PW Insider reports The Rock led a staff meeting at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut on Tuesday.
• Insider also heard about talk from behind-the-scenes at Raw on Monday and at WWE HQ Tuesday about the company “incorporating some sports-centric elements into the programming” as they try to “root the product in stronger realism.”

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.