Nick Khan Hints WWE Will Sign Several AEW Talents

When asked if WWE has a rival in AEW, Khan was very diplomatic, saying WWE always sees itself as the underdog. He said:

"...we feel like it's a good moment but we still feel like there's a lot of room for growth. In terms of the other wrestling promotional company, they have a lot of talented wrestlers, and we're happy about that. When contractually, you know, they're available to talk to and have conversations with, assume a number of them will come over, and nothing but respect for the father who yeah, finances it and owns the Jaguars and all those other things."

As for who WWE has its eyes on, that's not clear. There is talk that Mariah May is interested in jumping ship later this summer. There is also talk that Rusev has re-signed with WWE, and Aleister Black is set to make his imminent return. WWE also recently signed Penta and Rey Fenix, and it sounds like there are others the company might be interested in. One thing was clear, Nick Khan wasn't shy about hinting that WWE intends to scoop some of these talents when their contracts are up and that these same wrestlers likely have no desire to stay in AEW.

A Subtle Shot At Tony Khan?

Many fans took Nick Khan's reference to the "father" and not Tony Khan as a subtle shot at the President and owner of AEW. Nick Khan later said that WWE won’t sign people to bench them and only sign people they want to use.

He noted, “That's something we won't do. We won't sign and bench people. We sign people who we want to use." He was questioned about WWE's past, where they had too many wrestlers, and layoffs and releases took place because of it. he pivoted to say that he meant WWE won't intentionally sign talent to bench them. "If another entity signs and benches people like now, that's not something we would do.”