AEW Reportedly Offered Edge a Contract Before His Royal Rumble Return

WWE Hall of Famer Edge wrestled inside a WWE ring for the first time in nine years on Sunday night when he arrived in the Men's Royal Rumble match. But months before the emotional moment, Edge reportedly sat down with All Elite Wrestling to discuss possibly signing with the young promotion. According to WrestleZone, AEW reached out to the Rated-R Superstar in August after he speared Elias at SummerSlam and said on a podcast that he'd possibly be able to wrestle another match.

"It's unclear if WWE found out about the AEW talks or if he went back to them with the news, but Vince McMahon reportedly told him that he would be returning in a WWE ring if he was coming back at all and had him get cleared by a WWE doctor," WrestleZone's Bill Pritchard wrote.

Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin followed up that report by writing Edge was also offered a backstage role as a producer/agent on top of competing in a few matches.

According to PWInsider, Edge signed a three-year contract with WWE recently that will have him working a part-time schedule. On Monday night he returned to Raw, only to get brutally attacked by a chair-swinging Randy Orton.

Fresh off Chris Jericho's wrestling cruise last week, AEW Dynamite will return to live programming this week with their latest episode of Dynamite. Matches for the show include Jericho, Santana & Ortiz vs. Darby Allin and Private Party, The Young Bucks vs. The Butcher & The Blade and Cody Rhodes vs. Kip Sabian. Jon Moxley will also make an appearance fresh off earning an AEW World Championship match at the Revolution pay-per-view.

Elsewhere in AEW news, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis discussed the possibility of an AEW-NWA partnership in a recent Sports Illustrated interview.

"The NWA is open to working with anyone. There are a number of wrestlers outside the WWE that are viewed as elite-level guys, so it's only a matter of time before the audience starts demanding the main-event matches they want to see," Aldis said. "We want to give the fans the matches they want to see, these super fights.

"If AEW wants to be involved in big, marquee matches, then they have two choices: go out and write some more big checks to some more guys, or they're going to have to come to the table and work out some super fights with the NWA," he added.