Rumor Roundup (Jan. 26, 2024): Brock Lesnar WWE return, The Rock at Royal Rumble, Raw on Netflix, 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:
Fightful Select mentioned that this weekend’s Royal Rumble event was “originally discussed” as a potential date for Brock Lesnar’s return to WWE. However, those plans “may change” due to his reported inclusion in the Vince McMahon sex trafficking lawsuit that was filed by Janel Grant.
Wrestling Observer Live co-host Lance Storm responded to the idea of Lesnar returning to WWE at Royal Rumble by saying “that would be completely insane…I suspect you will not see him.”
Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso says it’s at least possible that The Rock will win the Royal Rumble match this weekend if that’s what he wants to do. However, that outcome “is not expected,” especially now that The Rock vs. Roman Reigns feud “could be extended to a time when it airs globally on Netflix” in 2025.
It’s unknown what platform WWE Raw will air on from October through December 2024, after its current TV deal with USA Network expires but before its new deal with Netflix begins. USA Network told Brandon Thurston that it won’t air Raw during those months. Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer was told that WWE will “make an announcement relatively soon” about this situation.
Meltzer says WWE’s deal with Netflix is “not nearly the [financial] increase that people think it is” due to all of WWE’s international TV deals that are involved. Meltzer and Thurston estimate the increase is in the range of 29% to 32%, which is less than the 50% predicted by Nick Khan.
In a video on Instagram, Logan Paul said WWE renewed his contract.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter mentioned that Naoto Inoki, the grandson of Antonio Inoki, “is now training seriously under Katsuyori Shibata.”
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