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What's the story?
WWE did all it could in order to secure the services of the Elite, and mainly Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.
According to a report from Wrestlingnews.co via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE had huge plans for the Young Bucks had they signed with WWE, including debuting at the Royal Rumble and a huge match at WrestleMania 35.
In case you didn't know...
Free agency was looming at the end of 2018 and the entire wrestling world was waiting to see what the Elite would do next once they all became free agents.
The Young Bucks and the rest of the Elite were all offered contracts from the WWE. Each member declined the offer, instead choosing to focus on building a new promotion named All Elite Wrestling.
Since WWE clearly wanted to secure all of the services of the Elite, they apparently had ready-made storylines and matches in place for the Bucks had they signed on the dotted line with WWE.
The heart of the matter
The Young Bucks were instrumental, along with Cody Rhodes, in putting together the biggest independent wrestling show in American history.
Since they felt that they could do it again, they decided to create their own promotion with the backing of Tony Khan despite what was pitched and offered to them in meeting with Triple H and WWE officials.
Wrestlingnews.co reveals via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that officials in WWE who knew of the deal offered to the Young Bucks were certain that they wouldn't turn it down.
The report also mentioned that regarding the offer, 'it was mind-boggling that they were offered the type of contract similar to what AJ Styles was offered and more mind-boggling that they turned it down'.
WWE was clearly confident that they could sign the Bucks, as the report stated that they 'would be debuting at the Royal Rumble' and 'would have been booked in a significant storyline leading up to WrestleMania'.
Triple H and the duo met for 12 hours in a meeting, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, discussing a potential contract, and the Bucks praised Triple H for how he handled everything regarding negotiations.
What's next?
WWE clearly pulled out all of the stops in order to try to secure the talents of the Young Bucks. They already had a built-in storyline for the duo that would have greatly impacted both the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 35.
The Elite probably had already made up their minds after the success of All In and decided what their future would hold once they became free agents at the end of 2018.
The meeting with WWE and Triple H might have been a formality, but perhaps WWE officials underestimated how much it meant to the Bucks to have creative control and be their own bosses.
It looks like the two promotions, WWE and AEW, will be competing directly with each other in order to prove supremacy. How that impacts the wrestling business remains to be seen, but competition should make both promotions better.
