You can count me among the wrestling fans who thought it was kind of surreal that top free agent stars Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Moné all landed in AEW, while the number one pro wrestling brand in the world, WWE, seemed content with bringing in…Shawn Spears.
That’s admittedly a very oversimplified way of looking at the pro wrestling landscape of late, but the point remains that WWE’s inability to sign at least one of those top free agents definitely stands out. WWE isn’t lacking for financial resources, of course, so the way the two companies put a dollar value on these stars must be very different.
That WWE didn’t sign any of these free agents probably doesn’t matter much to its business for now, as the company is in a great financial position and has a lot of room for error before they are in trouble on that front. However, AEW has lost a lot a lot of momentum over the last two years, and that could be changing now that they have Ospreay, Okada, and Moné in the fold. On the surface, this turn of events makes it seem like WWE isn’t too concerned about AEW’s business trajectory, and is extremely confident in maintaining its current dominance over the industry.
That brings me to AEW President Tony Khan’s interview this week with ComicBook Nation, where he noted that these new signings show that AEW is where the best wrestlers in the world want to be:
“I do think we’ve shown that AEW is where the best wrestle. AEW is the home to the best wrestlers in the world, and the best free agents are coming to AEW.
The AEW roster is getting stronger, and there’s never been a better time for a wrestler to want to come to AEW to prove themself because the quality of the competition here and the quality of the shows that we’re putting on is very high. We’re setting a tremendous standard here, and that’s why the best wrestlers in the world want to be in AEW right now.”
When you sign three top free agents who are among the best wrestlers in the world, you can get away with saying things like this.
Are you surprised that Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Moné all signed with AEW instead of WWE? Let us know in the comments below if you think these roster moves will make a significant difference for AEW as it tries to get the product hot again in 2024.
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