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AEW boss, Tony Khan, talked about “budget cuts” by WWE. Speaking on contracts offered by WWE, he said:
"Anyone who signs a contract (in WWE) these days, is not signing a real contract. It's a temporary arrangement. People who come wrestle with me, a lot of these people are frankly lifers and they know that. There are some people who are here who work really hard and there are some people who come in and work more than really hard and I feel like [it] is their actual life and will be with me for the rest of my life. I don't know if everybody who works for my competition can say that. I think there are people who work there and they aren't sure they will be there next week. There is a lot more security with a contract here.”
WWE has earned enfamy by releasing talent during the pandemic when there are lesser places available to work for. Their developmental brand, NXT, looks like a shadow of its former self. On their most recent spree, WWE released eight superstars, including John Morrison.
Regarding the issue of signing WWE releases to AEW, Tony Khan added:
“I can't say I'm going to extend every contract or bring every person back, but I also haven't been doing mass layoffs. I'm not the most profitable company of all time, I don't brag about being the most profitable company of all time. I do brag about bringing in a lot of revenue for a startup and being a real success story. What I will brag about is we haven't been doing mass layoffs and we haven't fired 15 people last week or 18 people the week before that.”
WWE is likely to release more superstars in the coming days. It would be interesting to see who comes next to AEW as a former WWE guy.
Griff Garrison was eager to leave AEW during the pandemic.
In a recent interview with F4Wonline “Punch-Out”, booking agent Bill Behrens revealed that his client Griff Garrison was unhappy with his limited appearance. On one occasion, he nearly appeared on NXT. Behrens took credit for convincing him to stay in AEW.
The youngster is presently appearing in AEW as a part of The Varsity Blondes with Brian Pillman Jr. and Julia Hart.
Which former WWE Superstar would you like to see in AEW next? Tell us below in the comments.
