AEW reportedly sent an email to WWE co-CEOs Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon warning them ‘not to tamper’ with their talent after an AEW wrestler reported to the company that a WWE representative contacted them regarding a possible return.
It was later reported that Malakai Black asked to be let out of his deal, but he has since denied that. Black, FTR, and Swerve Strickland were some of the people in AEW that WWE reached out to about returning after Triple H took over creative from Vince McMahon several months ago.
While speaking on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that AEW President Tony Khan will not be granting any releases.
“Nobody’s getting released. That’s the doctrine. Tony Khan made that very clear I guess in the last couple of days. Now it’s just, he’s (Black) not being released, Buddy Matthews isn’t being released. Now they may be back sooner than before, whatever. That’s the situation. I think they both wanted to go and tried to get a way out, and it’s what we talked about last night. That’s the decision that was made. It’s not to say it’s hard and fast, and there’d be no way they’d ever give anybody a release, but I think it’s pretty much the deal that if this happened in the other company, would those people get releases? and the answer is no. They signed the contract, so basically, now, their option is to sit at home, and he (Khan) can extend the contract if they sit at home, or wrestle. So now they’re gonna wrestle.”
Meltzer added that everyone you would think WWE would go after having a previous working relationship with Triple H they went after.
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