Rumor Roundup (Jan. 20, 2023): Royal Rumble surprises, Naomi return, Jay Briscoe, 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.

Rumors for the Day:

• A source told WrestleVotes that Cody Rhodes’ return to WWE at Royal Rumble was announced ahead of time for two reasons. The first reason is that “nearly everyone expected it to happen already.” The second reason is that WWE is “more than pleased” with the actual surprises that are planned for the event.
• Naomi’s WWE contract was close to expiring at the time she walked out of the company with Sasha Banks in May. Prior to the situation that led to Naomi walking out, Fightful Select indicates that both sides were optimistic about agreeing to an extension that would have been the biggest money contract of her career.
• Someone high up in WWE told Fightful there has been “positive contact” between both sides and they are confident that Naomi will return to the company.
• PW Insider claims that AEW would have done a lot more to pay tribute to Jay Briscoe on Dynamite this week, but they couldn’t go beyond what “their broadcast partner” would allow them to do.
• Insider also mentions that Tony Khan wanted to bring in more people for the ROH Jay Briscoe tribute show that was taped after Dynamite, but the short notice made it “logistically impossible” in some cases.
• Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer said even though Nick Khan is supposed to be in charge of WWE’s hirings and firings right now, “the general assumption” among people in the company is that Vince McMahon was behind the decision to get rid of Vice President of Public Relations Adam Hopkins.
• The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that WWE is hoping for a sale of the company “in the $8.5 billion range.” It was noted that analysts believe Comcast is capable of agreeing to a deal more in the range of “$7.4 billion to $8.2 billion.”

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.