Rumor Roundup: Bray Wyatt not in Hall of Fame, Punk altercation, Mercedes Moné, 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:

• F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer says Bray Wyatt was “on the list at one point” for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024, but that’s no longer part of WWE’s plan. However, Meltzer is under the impression that Bray “will be put in soon.”
• Fightful’s NXT sources were skeptical about Booker T’s claim that he and CM Punk almost had a backstage altercation at this week’s taping. The sources weren’t aware of any confrontation taking place, security wasn’t aware of a confrontation, and there was no talk of a backstage incident between Punk and Booker T.
• The people that Fightful spoke to were frustrated about Booker T making this claim about Punk, especially “given Punk’s history with backstage altercations.” It was reiterated that CM has not had any backstage issues since he returned to WWE. He has generally been helpful behind the scenes and was in good spirits this week at NXT.
• Sean Ross Sapp was told there will be more focus on the AEW women’s division now that Mercedes Moné is on the roster. It sounds like there will be a Mercedes segment in addition to the normal women’s segment on the TV shows.
• One of the women’s stars in WWE told the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that they heard Moné is now “the highest paid woman in pro wrestling.” The WWE star is thrilled about Moné’s deal because it creates a better market for the top women wrestlers in the industry.
• WWE is considering changes to their PLE pre-shows that could be implemented this year, per PWInsider Elite. WWE is said to be looking at ESPN College GameDay as a model, and hoping to have the Kickoffs feature more “live, high-energy, free-flowing discussion” about events and big matches.

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.