Rumor Roundup: Randy Orton return, WrestleMania surprises, Ronda Rousey, 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:

WrestleVotes told GiveMeSport that Randy Orton wanted to make his return to WWE at WrestleMania 39, and it’s possible that could happen but not 100-percent confirmed. At the very least, he’ll be in town for the show.
Other names who will be in town who could make surprise appearances at WrestleMania 39, according to the Wrestling Observer: Matt Riddle, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Big E.

Fightful Select says original plans called for Ronda Rousey to defend the SmackDown women’s championship against Raquel Rodriguez at Royal Rumble, then Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 39. Charlotte Flair would have returned and challenged Bianca Belair for the Raw women’s title at the same show. Instead, she pushed to do the tag team with Shayna Baszler.
Per PW Insider, the plan is for Gangrel to play a part in Edge’s entrance at WrestleMania, and he might also play a part in the match with Finn Balor.
Any rumors of Rey Mysterio retiring after WrestleMania are untrue, says the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

WRKD Wrestling says there have been talks of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa reuniting on the main roster after WrestleMania.
They also say we should “keep an eye out for some glitches and QR codes this week.” Take that as you will.

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.