There has been a great amount of discussion over the last two months about WWE reportedly making overtures to AEW talent who are still under contract, and a new report sheds some light on exactly who these names are.
According to Fightful Select, there were indeed some AEW stars who did receive word that WWE would be interested in bringing them back. The first name that jumps off the page is former AEW Tag Team Champion Swerve Strickland. According to the report, he told the WWE party to contact his attorney. Strickland apparently had no interest in returning to WWE, and the pitch was reportedly for him to return as part of Hit Row.
For what it’s worth, Strickland’s partner Keith Lee has apparently not been contacted by WWE.
On the tag team front, it was previously reported that word was given to FTR that WWE would be interested in bringing them back.
Any Truth to Those Bobby Fish, Adam Cole, and Kyle O’Reilly Rumors?
There has been some chatter that Bobby Fish, prior to exiting AEW, was trying to get Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly to ask for their AEW releases so that the trio could return to WWE. According to Fightful Select, there’s no truth to this rumor. Several AEW sources indicated the rumor was false, and WWE sources stated that they have not been in contact with Fish about a return to the company.
Miro has not asked for his AEW release despite there being some chatter about WWE reaching out to him. These rumors were not substantiated or refuted, with no reporting either way on the matter.
Lastly, at least one AEW official stated they are expecting both Buddy Matthews and Aleister Black to be back with AEW within a couple of months. Black had asked for his AEW release and reportedly told at least one person at WWE that he wished he was back with the company, however AEW never had any intention of releasing him so that he could return to WWE. AEW officials believed that the situation had been “smoothed over” prior to All Out.
Furthermore, Black did an IG Live on Monday night where he noted he has not been released from AEW. He stated that he has been given some time off to deal with some personal things. He said he would be back with AEW soon.
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