As has been noted a few times already, WWE reportedly reached out to several contracted AEW talent.
The Wrestling Observer’s Ryan Frederick shed some light on some additional names. This was in response to a post by a user on the board. The user wrote, “I’d expect that one may well have been Buddy Matthews. The other ex WWE guys I guess it could be would be Keith Lee, Cole, O’Reilly or Andrade.”
Frederick wrote, “yes, no, no, no, very possibly.”
That would mean that WWE reached out to Murphy and they may have “very possibly” reached out to Andrade El Idolo. As for Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly, Frederick previously stated that Bobby Fish tried to convince Cole and O’Reilly to request their release from AEW so that they could all go back to WWE. Click here for more on that story.
Fightful reported today that other names that had feelers sent to them include FTR, Swerve Strickland, and Malakai Black, who reportedly said to people that he wished he was still in WWE. Their report also states that an AEW source said that in August, WWE reached out to an AEW name who had been with the company from the start, and “we’d be surprised to learn they reached out to.”
Black reportedly received a conditional release from AEW and would not be allowed to wrestle for WWE for quite a while. FTR reportedly has a lot of time left on their deals. Swerve Strickland is also believed a lot of time left on his deal.
