Departing WWE Superstars Are Expected To Sign With AEW This Summer

Reports that Kingston and Woods are already locked in to sign with AEW once they are legally allowed to do so come from Fightful. The site claims that it's almost being considered a foregone conclusion that the New Day members will be All Elite sooner rather than later, with various wrestlers and employees behind the scenes pushing to make sure the company snaps them up.

There are several reasons why Kingston and Woods would want to sign with AEW, and even more reasons why AEW would want the multi-time Tag Team Champions on their roster. The dream matches alone are reasons enough to sign them up. The Young Bucks have already teased that they are ready and waiting for that match whenever the opportunity arises.

Tag Team Wrestling Is Bigger And Better In AEW

It's also no secret that tag team wrestling is more respected and given a far bigger spotlight in AEW than it ever has been in WWE. It's a credit to Kingston and Woods, along with Big E, that they've not only remained employed by WWE but have been featured on TV pretty much constantly throughout their entire runs, even when tag team wrestling in WWE was considered an afterthought.

Even now, it wasn't WWE finally deciding to kick them out the door. Kingston and Woods were reportedly among the Superstars who were asked to sign new contracts by TKO that would have seen their pay cut by up to 50 percent. The alleged reason for these enforced pay cuts is that wrestlers are competing a lot less due to fewer house shows than when they signed their deals. Kingston and Woods opted to leave instead of taking the new deals.

I was unclear on whether the typical 90-day non-compete clause would apply to Kingston and Woods since they left the company of their own accord and weren't technically a part of the latest wave of WWE releases. However, the veterans do still seem to be bound by that cluase, which means if they are AEW-bound, they can't sign with the rival promotion until the end of July.