Nick Aldis, a former Impact and NWA World Heavyweight Champion, is reportedly now a free agent after his Impact World Championship match against Alex Shelley in the main event of Saturday’s Slammiversary pay-per-view for Impact Wrestling. After a tumultuous departure from the National Wrestling Alliance in late 2022, Aldis made his official return to Impact at the Rebellion pay-per-view back in April. Based on the latest reports, that was merely a short-term deal. And now that “The National Treasure” is free, WWE apparently has interest in locking him in to a deal.
According to PWInsider Elite, multiple WWE sources are stating the company has “high interest” in Aldis. The report also noted that hsi name has been discussed as a possible producer in the company, so it’s possible that they’re more interested in using the 36-year-old in a behind-the-scenes capacity rather as an in-ring competitor.
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Nick Aldis on His Interest in Signing With WWE
Aldis hinted at the idea of joining WWE in an interview with ComicBook back in August 2022 while he was still under contract with the NWA — “When I choose to sign a contract somewhere, that’s me making my full commitment to that organization for the time that I’m under contract. To me, that’s what being a professional is. So having said that, it’s always difficult to talk about having aspirations to move on and to conquer the last big [thing]. For me, there’s one major level that I haven’t accomplished in the game and everyone knows what that is. I’m not going to deny that that’s still something that I think about all the time. I think the difference is that I sort made peace with the idea that it’ll happen or it won’t.”
Is Brian Pillman Jr. Heading to WWE?
Another name that recently hit the free agent market is Brian Pillman Jr. as his AEW contract recently expired. News broke last week that he was spotted at WWE’s Performance Center, but there’s been no word on him signing a developmental deal with the promotion. Jim Ross was one of the few AEW personalities to address Pillman leaving the company while on his Grilling JR podcast last week.
“It wasn’t working,” Ross said (h/t Inside The Ropes). “He’s not losing any ring time. He’ll have plenty of opportunities. He’s just gotta structure his journey and be smart about the decisions that he makes and get all the in-ring time that he can. Wrestle as many matches as he can schedule. So, he’s gonna be fine, just gotta have his plan and work it. His career took a minor tumble, but not one that you can’t get up from. So, I have a lot of confidence he’s gonna end up very successful in wrestling.”
