Welcome to the Grapevine! This section of Smark Henry is where we round up all the important founded and unfounded rumors floating around the pro wrestling scene that you may have missed over the past few days. Remember to take everything with a grain of salt!
Jon Moxley is not wrestling in the men's Royal Rumble match
Contrary to wild online speculation, neither Jon Moxley nor any AEW star is scheduled to appear in this year's men's Royal Rumble match. @WrestleVotes on Twitter tweeted a rumor claiming that WWE may be interested in getting a non-WWE wrestler to appear as a surprise entrant in the match after they got Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James to appear for the women's Royal Rumble, but the only thing confirmed is that WWE is open to the idea, and it will definitely not be anyone from AEW. (Source: @WrestleVotes, Dave Meltzer)
We say: Anyone following the two companies will already know that WWE wants nothing to do with AEW despite saying they don't consider them competition. If the non-WWE surprise entrant does end up happening, it will likely be a former WWE Superstar the fans are familiar with.
Mustafa Ali update
After tweeting that he is requesting his release from WWE, it turns out that Mustafa Ali has apparently not been used on TV following a "heated argument" between he and Vince McMahon. Ali, who had tried to debut a controversial new character and storyline in late 2021 following the WWE Draft, was pitched an angle by McMahon that he reportedly would have never done, which led to the argument. He had also asked for a week off due to the birth of his third child back in November, but was not used on the show since. (Source: Fightful Select)
We say: Good for Ali for standing up for himself in the face of bad creative from Vince McMahon himself. While admittedly, his release from WWE would not affect the company's bigger picture, it is indicative of a roster slowly starting to not take any shit Whether this will lead to a change in the way the company is run creatively will remain to be seen, but it's a nice start.
Photo from AEW
