Rumor Roundup: Naomi/WWE, AEW business, Mtn Dew Pitch Black match, 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:

• Trinity Fatu changed her Instagram bio to read “JUST TRINITY” without any references to her time in WWE as Naomi, leading to speculation she has no plans to return to WWE at this time.
• After last week’s Bloomberg Businessweek profile on Tony Khan included claims that AEW’s “Fight Forever” video game was coming out next month and that the company is close to a streaming deal, Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that neither is true. Regarding the streaming service, he said, “Of course they want one. It’s been talked about forever, for more than a year. But it’s not a deal that’s on the horizon right now.”
• Backstage reaction to the AEW house show announcement was “positive,” says Fightful Select. Not surprising, since the site says “multiple wrestlers” pushed for the move. One of the big reasons is because it will enable more inexperienced members of the roster a chance to work with AEW veterans on the road rather than relying on indie bookings to get reps.
• Pepsi’s sponsorship of Royal Rumble’s Mountain Dew Pitch Black match was “a million-dollar deal,” per Meltzer on Observer Radio.
• PW Insider points out that the Feb. 17 Rampage is listed as airing at 7pm ET on TNT’s schedule. This is due to the network’s coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend.
• It’s believed that a conflict with the rumored ROH TV taping that weekend led to Beyond Wrestling announcing that several previously advertised AEW/Ring of Honor-affiliated wrestlers won’t work their Feb. 26 show.

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.