Recent AEW Angle Was Quietly A Write Off, Fearing Star Will Leave For WWE

Daniel Garcia's contract expires this fall.

By Liam Crowley

Maxwell Jacob Friedman returned to his villainous roots in sadistic fashion. Earlier this month, MJF bludgeoned Daniel Garcia following Garcia's failed effort to capture the AEW International Title from Will Ospreay. MJF attempted to help Garcia win the gold by offering him his Dynamite Diamond Ring, a weapon he has regularly used to win matches in the past, but Garcia turned it down, which ultimately cost him the match. The post-match attack, which included MJF striking Garcia dozens of times with the ring and piledriving him from the top rope, forced Garcia to be stretchered out of the ring. He has not been seen on AEW TV since.

Daniel Garcia's AEW Future in Doubt, Potentially WWE Bound

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(Photo: WWE, AEW)

MJF's attack on Daniel Garcia was two-fold.

As reported by WrestlePurists, AEW is "protecting themselves" regarding Garcia and his future. Fightful Select reported earlier this summer that Garcia's contract is set to expire this fall. WrestlePurists' report continues that if Garcia re-signs, he will enter a feud with MJF, but if he leaves, then "he was Ricochet'd."

Ricochet was written off of WWE television this past June after being brutalized by Bron Breakker, an angle that was done following the high-flyer giving his notice to WWE. While Ricochet has yet to pop up elsewhere, the prevailing belief is that he will end up with AEW.

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(Photo: WWE, AEW)

Garcia has been with AEW since September 2020, first competing on AEW Dark. He eventually put pen to paper with AEW in October 2021. While he has yet to capture a title in AEW, Garcia has found success in his programs with Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, and Bryan Danielson.

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There is hope within AEW that Garcia will re-sign. The only company that could realistically out-bid AEW for his talents is WWE. Garcia leaping to WWE would follow a recent string of ex-AEW stars to venture to the land of sports-entertainment. In the last year alone, former AEW stars Brian Pillman Jr. (Lexis King), Jade Cargill, Shawn Spears, and Ethan Page have all jumped to WWE. All four have found success, most prominently Cargill and Page. Cargill is a former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion and Page actively reigns as NXT Champion.

WWE has also made an added effort to bring in more wrestlers to the company as of late, a departure from the WWE NIL agenda established two years ago. WWE NXT remains largely populated by collegiate athletes-turned-wrestlers, but incoming additions like Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer show that WWE remains open to bringing in top international talent.

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