The professional wrestling industry is flourishing at a rate that hasn’t been seen in decades. The days of WWE being the only show in town are long gone, as titans like All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling have certified themselves as viable alternatives for both fans and talent alike. Even outside the big three, the re-emergence of Impact Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance have given a number of independent talent the opportunity to showcase their skills on a big stage while simultaneously being allowed to appear for a plethora of other promotions. Those freelance contracts are an asset to the wrestlers, but the promotions themselves just about always prefer having exclusive access to their stars.
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This has been evident with AEW specifically, as it has allowed the likes of Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta to venture to GCW and NJPW, but has prevented others from working with certain promotions. Seattle’s DEFY Wrestling has long been interested in AEW’s Bryan Danielson, but AEW has held off on “The American Dragon” competing for the Washington-based promotion because it wants Danielson’s first match in his home state (since leaving WWE) to be under the All Elite banner.
While most promotions are lenient, and some have certain restrictions, the biggest show in town retains total exclusivity. Despite being classified as independent contractors, wrestlers in WWE are only allowed to appear for WWE while on its books. That perk is what made the company aggressively sign a bulk of the independent scene’s talent in the late 2010s, boosting its NXT roster to include top guys from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, PROGRESS, and Ring of Honor. That strategy was all but abandoned in the pandemic era, but with Paul “Triple H” Levesque now controlling WWE creative, glimmers of the old ways have begun to shine.
The likes of former NXT Champion Karrion Kross, former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion Dakota Kai, and character standout Dexter Lumis have all been brought back to the company in recent weeks. On top of that, some AEW talent have anonymously shared that they would have never left WWE if Triple H was in his current position of power when their contracts were up. Now, a recent report shared that the interest in working for Triple H is a two-way street.
Fightful Select reported that “a notable AEW talent” was contacted by WWE about working for WWE. The report emphasized that this anonymous talent is under AEW contract and stressed that they are happy with their current employer, and had no desires to leave. Fightful clarified that a member of WWE’s talent relations department contacted the AEW star, who then referred the call to their representation rather than speaking with the talent relations representative directly. According to sources familiar with the situation, there was “no mistake” that this AEW talent was already working on a full-time deal. It’s unclear if this is considered unlawful contract tampering at this time.
While there is no word on who this talent is, it’s worth noting that the report does not specify whether the person was contacted about returning or joining WWE. This could mean that this is a talent that has no prior WWE experience or is someone who has had a WWE run before.
The recent power shift in WWE has not wavered AEW President Tony Khan, who has emphasized that a bulk of his roster is on the books for years to come.
“Some of the narratives I’ve seen every day for the last week are really amusing to me. Like, I’ve got people signed (in AEW) for five years,” Khan said. “And people think just because the guy, the CEO, the chairman, the head of creative, those positions change in the competition, people I have five-year contracts with, are just magically gonna’ switch teams? Good luck with that. Adam Cole is signed through 2027 now. I wouldn’t expect to see him going anywhere anytime soon.”
Khan’s quotes were referenced on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite, where a backstage segment featured Matt Jackson telling Hangman Page that “word is those guys (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish) are going to be around for a long time.”
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on this story.
