Posted in: AEW, Impact Wrestling, Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: aew, impact, The People's Dirt Sheet Rumor Roundup, wrestling, wwe

Is Ric Flair Headed to AEW? Plus: More Wrestling News and Gossip

Does a WWE memo prove Adam Cole is done with the company? How many times did Vince McMahon rip up the script of this week's Monday Night Raw? Which former ECW and WWE star is set to debut at MLW Fightland? And what has caused Chris Jericho to reject Trumpism and require vaccines for the upcoming Jericho Cruise? All that and more wrestling news awaits.

Greetings, comrades! It is I, your El Presidente, and for years I spent my time rounding up my political enemies and having them executed, but now instead I round up wrestling rumors from around the web and bring them to you here in The People's Dirt Sheet Rumor Roundup. And my friends, I can honestly say that the latter is more fulfilling… though I do sometimes miss the wails of dissidents wafting from my dungeons.

Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair had an awful match on WWE Raw this week. Yes, more awful than a usual Nia Jax match. But according to Dave Meltzer, they weren't shooting on each other. They were working a shoot, hermano. So don't worry, comrades. Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax remain as professional as they were before, if you believe Meltzer. Mike Johnson at PWInsider, however, tells a different story.

Adam Cole is a free agent and, many believe, headed to AEW. On Wrestling Observer Radio this week, Dave Meltzer discussed whether or not WWE sent out an internal memo confirming Cole was no longer with the company. According to Meltzer, no sources could confirm the memo exists, but he believes it probably did anyway, meaning that the rumor about WWE's Adam Cole memo is both alive and dead at the same time, or, in other words, Schrodinger's WWE Adam Cole memo rumor. Plans can change, comrades.

Tajiri is coming to MLW, and he's set to make his debut October 2nd at the ECW arena for MLW Fightland. Throughout his storied career, Tajiri has been known as the Japanese Buzzsaw, which is quite a coincidence, because I used to enjoy using a Japanese buzzsaw to cut off the limbs of journalists who mocked me in the press. Those Japanese buzzsaws have some quality craftmanship, amigos! Haw haw haw haw! Tickets are available here.

According to comrade Mike Johnson at PWInsider, this week's episode of WWE Raw wasn't written until two hours of the show, with Vince McMahon ripping up the script several times before the show, even more than usual. Johnson reports that his sources told him McMahon asked the creative team to supply new ideas, then rejected all those ideas as well before writing the entire show himself. A lot of people ask why Vince even bothers to have a creative team if he's just going to throw out all their ideas, but my friends, your El Presidente understands. It isn't easy being a leader. Sometimes, things go wrong, and its during those tough times that real leaders must step up and… blame everything on a scapegoat. The WWE creative team are the scapegoats, comrades. It is a vital role.

WWE NXT is headed for a major rebrand next week. This week's episode was taped, but WWE has been teasing a colorful new logo to complete the emasculation of Triple H as revenge for Haitch losing the Wednesday Night Wars to AEW. According to Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful Select, the Capitol Wrestling Center set has been undergoing changes, but WWE is keeping details of the rebrand secret from the WWE roster. Well, what do you expect them to do, comrades? Spill all their secrets to people they're probably going to fire next week? Haw haw haw haw!

Awesome Kong may have retired at NWA EmPowerrr last weekend, but that doesn't mean she's done with the wrestling business. On the Women's Wrestling Talk podcast, as transcribed by Fightful, Kong had the following to say about her future:

I couldn't say specifically the pies I have my fingers in, just that I have my fingers in some pies in entertainment and hopefully soon you'll know the flavors. You'll know what I'm up to very soon. I may be done physically in the ring, but now is when you transition into supporting the next generation and what they want to do in the ring.

So working in catering, then? Say hello to Keith Lee for me, comrade Kong. Haw haw haw haw!

Also from Fightful, Tommaso Ciampa walked back well-publicized comments that he would rather retire than join the WWE main roster. According to Ciampa, it isn't imminent burial and a possible dominatrix costume that makes him not want to join the roster. For one thing, Ciampa has been known to wear a kinky sex mask to the ring by choice. For another, it turns out he was just talking about how the travel schedule would be hard for him. Is he telling the truth? Give me ten minutes with Ciampa and my best torturer and I can make him talk, comrades.

Chris Jericho may have donated a bunch of dinero to Donald Trump's reelection campaign, and the whereabouts of Jericho's wife during the January 6th Capitol Insurrection are currently unknown, but the next Jericho Cruise, taking place in October, will require all guests be fully vaccinated before boarding the ship. Has Le Champion, who played a Fozzy show in a crowded indoor venue at the height of the pandemic, turned over a new leaf? According to Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston, it seems to be the general policy of Norwegian Cruise lines driving the decision.

And finally, wrapping up this wrestling news and gossip roundup, Ric Flair may be a free agent, but that doesn't mean he'll be showing up in AEW any time soon? And why not, given he's friends with AEW owner Tony Khan? Well, it seems that Khan simply hasn't reached out to ask, according to Flair during an interview on Renee Paquette's Oral Sessions, as transcribed by 411 Mania.

When I almost died four years ago, I found out who my friends were when I woke up, and I found out who my friends were when I left WWE. You'd be surprised, on the positive side, how many people reached out. I can also tell you, people who started rumors, no need to get into that. 'Oh, he's going to AEW. He and Tony Khan are friends.' Yeah, we are friends, but I haven't heard a word from Tony [Khan]. If he asks you, tell him I'm around [laughs].

Of course, Tony Khan may have a very good reason he hasn't contacted Ric Flair. The next season of Vice's Dark Side of the Ring is set to explore The Plane Ride from Hell, which will feature harrowing accounts of Flair's well-publicized alleged interactions with flight attendants. When the incident first occurred in 2002, such behavior was often overlooked, if not celebrated by the wrestling community and wrestling news sites, but twenty years later, the world is a much different place and Tony Khan is a savvy man. So if El Presidente had to wager, don't expect Ric Flair to show up in AEW any time soon, at least until the episode airs and Khan can see if the whole thing blows over like it has in the past.

That's all the hot wrestling news and gossip for today, comrades! I will be back tomorrow with more of The People's Dirt Sheet Roundup with His Excellency, El Presidente. Until then, my friends, remember: socialism or death!

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