Relatively speaking, AEW hasn’t seen many of its wrestlers jump ship to WWE in the six years since the pro wrestling promotion was first created.
Nick Khan, however, believes that could soon change.
Ahead of this weekend’s WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, the WWE president made an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast. And when asked about the company’s rival promotion, Khan opted to play nice, praising AEW for its impressive roster of talent.
“In terms of the other wrestling promotional company, they have a lot of talented wrestlers and we’re happy about that,” Khan told Simmons. “When contractually, they’re available to be talked to and have conversations with, assume a number of them will come over.”
The former sports media super agent, however, followed up with a comment that many perceived to be a shot at AEW owner and president Tony Khan (no relation).
“Nothing but respect for the father who finances it and owns the Jaguars and all those other things,” Nick Khan said in reference to Tony’s father, Shahid Khan.
Sideswipe aside, Nick Khan’s comments are notable as they indicate that WWE already has its eye on AEW wrestlers currently under contract with the promotion. To this point, WWE hasn’t signed many ex-AEW wrestlers since the company’s inception in 2019, with the most obvious exceptions being Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, both of whom had previous runs in WWE.
Outside of Rhodes and Punk, WWE’s AEW signings have been limited to secondary main roster stars like Penta, Jade Cargill, Andrade and Rey Fenix and developmental talents such as Ricky Saints, Ethan Page and Lexis King. While Nick Khan obviously didn’t name names, recent reports have linked former AEW women’s champion Mariah May to WWE, while ex-WWE stars Aleister Black and Rusev are expected to rejoin the company soon following stints in AEW.
Ultimately, one of the best parts of the “Monday Night Wars” between WWE (then WWF) and WCW in the late-1990s and early-2000s was the excitement of seeing wrestlers from one promotion join the other. But while those moments have largely been few and far between when it comes to the WWE and AEW rivalry, it appears that might not be the case for long based on Khan’s comments.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.