With the 2024 edition of Money in the Bank on July 6 and other standard-fare buzz making the rounds, the pro wrestling rumor mill is hot to the touch.

Sure, there's the standard buzz about the big WWE event. But there are also rumblings about a free agent and AEW that will have plenty of fans raising eyebrows.

The injury list is also a major point of speculation, with some of the biggest names in the sport who have been on the shelf for a while suddenly the subject of return rumors.

To help fans keep up with the rapid pace, here's a sampling of the hottest rumors making the rounds and a verdict on the believability of each.

Schedule Shakeup for Major Events?

The shift to two nights has been a unanimous boon for WrestleMania.

Other PLEs using the format was only a matter of time.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), SummerSlam is likely going to the same format and the Royal Rumble could as well, too.

Call it an easy buy. At 'Mania, stacked cards have had more room to breathe, live audiences haven't been so fatigued by the ends of shows and events have ended at reasonable times.

Doing the same for SummerSlam would provide all of the same benefits. Royal Rumble is a little dicier, but it's easy to see WWE experiment with the idea of having the women's rumble match main-eventing one night and the men's the next.

Any other PLEs getting the same treatment might oversaturate things, but the proposed trio makes sense.

Verdict: Buying

Shane McMahon Latest

The idea of Shane McMahon going to AEW is a stunner, yet that rumbling popped up on a podcast last week with Jim Ross.

Fast forward to now, if nothing else, Ortman has noted that Shane is no longer under contract with WWE, so if something were to happen, it could be at any time.

But the whole thing just smells like a sell. A McMahon popping up in AEW, even after all that unfolded with Vince McMahon, just feels like an impossibility for a ton of reasons.

One of those is business, sure. But another is creative—what exactly would Shane do in AEW that would make sense? In this era of blurred lines, it's not like he's going to convince fans he's trying to buy the company or that he's acting on behalf of WWE or something.

Barring a historic stunner, this one is a fun "what if?" and nothing more.

Verdict: Selling

Rhea Ripley Buzz Continues to Grow

Is a Rhea Ripley return imminent?

One would think not, given the severity of her shoulder injury that saw her vacating the Women's World Championship back in April.

But according to Fightful (h/t Ortman), there are currently creative plans in place that would get her back on television and in programs without requiring her to be physically cleared to wrestle matches.

That would seem to imply a soonish return—which is a buy. The narrative around The Judgment Day has hit a huge upswing with Liv Morgan infiltrating the group, so it's only right in a storytelling sense that Ripley would return to get involved.

Ripley doing so wouldn't require a match right away, so some measured storytelling until she's actually cleared behind the scenes makes a ton of sense.

Verdict: Buying

ETA on CM Punk Return?

Given the happenings lately, it sure seems like a CM Punk return to the ring is very close.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio's Dave Meltzer (h/t Ortman), though, there is actually concern that Punk might not be ready in time for SummerSlam.

Surely this is a major sell, though. Punk just interfered in McIntyre's match at Clash at the Castle to cost him a championship and was absolutely demolished backstage on weekly programming as a result.

All signs have pointed to a settling of this feud in the ring at the biggest event of the summer, so it would be a stunning misfire by all involved to build it up this much, only to have it not occur at SummerSlam.

Considering this is one of the best feuds in years—even with one of the guys being unable to go in the ring—there's surely a measured plan in place to avoid a catastrophe like this.

Verdict: Selling