Rumor Roundup: Vince McMahon banned, Punk promo, McIntyre WWE deal, MJF, 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:

• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer says Vince McMahon’s name is “not allowed to be mentioned” on WWE television. There was a backstage reaction of “Oh god!” when CM Punk made a reference to him during his promo segment with Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins on this week’s Raw.
• Their segment went over its allotted time, but there was “no real heat on anybody for anything they did” during it. In fact, Triple H anticipated it would go long, and “everybody was thrilled” when it popped a big rating.
• Per Meltzer, Drew McIntyre wasn’t in a rush to re-sign with WWE because “he wanted to do this new character, and if the new character didn’t work out and the booking wasn’t strong…the idea was maybe go back [home] and spend time with the family and take time off.” Drew’s asking price should theoretically be higher now than six months ago because “he’s a much bigger star and he’s got big programs to come back to.”
• PW Insider notes that MJF is still recovering from his “multiple injuries.” The belief is that he is locked into an AEW contract despite being removed from the roster page on its web site. The former AEW world champ was in Boston the day after Big Business for a meeting with AEW officials, but a timeline for his return to the ring remains unknown.
• WrestleVotes heard the NXT Battleground premium live event “will be moving off May 26th to June 9th,” which means it is no longer going head-to-head with the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view. The location of NXT Battleground is also moving from Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia, to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Fightful Select says AJ Francis aka Top Dolla signed a TNA contract that will keep him with the promotion through the end of 2024. The deal allows Dolla to keep working in NWA, MLW, and NJPW, but not in WWE or 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.