3 Biggest AEW rumors we hope are true and 2 we hope aren't: Jon Moxley's WWE return plans; another released superstar signs; top stars regret not working under Triple H?
Welcome to another edition of AEW rumors that we hope are true and some we hope aren't. With WWE recently revamping its management, Jon Moxley has been on top of speculated names subject to return.
In the wake of these assumptions, we have a massive update on whether The Purveyor of Violence will jump ship to his alma mater. Meanwhile, Tony Khan continues to bolster its roster as he has reportedly signed another released superstar from his rival promotion.
Plus, some AEW talents who previously worked for NXT have mixed responses to whether they'd have left the promotion had Triple H been in power earlier. In addition to these lead stories, we'll cap off this week's column with some unfortunate injury updates on Undisputed Elite members.
#5. Hopefully true: Jon Moxley is not leaving All Elite Wrestling anytime soon
Jon Moxley infamously left WWE in 2019, citing growing frustration with the lack of creative freedom given under the regime of Vince McMahon.
Now, even though the company has a newfound leader in Triple H, fans shouldn't get their hopes up on the world champion leaving the creative-friendly territory of AEW anytime soon.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer quashed the rampant speculation:
"I saw Moxley’s name, people going like ‘Oh now with Vince [McMahon] gone Moxley will whatever.’ All I will say is, don’t bet on that one. I mean you never say never but that is one,” Meltzer said.
Bryan Alvarez also noted that Moxley has made it clear to him that he will never work under the scripted wrestling program, which WWE has seemingly long built on:
He should play the game but he’s told me, on more than one occasion, that he will never read a script unless it’s in a movie or a television show. But if it’s pro wrestling, he’ll never read a script again. He will never recite from a script again," Alvarez added. (H/T - Inside The Ropes)
We hope this is true. The Purveyor of Violence has often gone on record to lambast WWE for prompting its wrestlers to cram long scripts before cutting promos.
The 36-year-old appears to enjoy creative freedom in AEW, which has ostensibly improvised his grim persona on television. The Blackpool Combat Club member is unlikely to give that up unless WWE, under Triple H's leadership, decides to bring an end to script-oriented shows.
#4. Hopefully true: Josh Woods has signed with All Elite Wrestling
#aewdynamite #aew Josh Woods is awesome but I question why Tony Khan would decide to start booking talent for ROH shows in a per appearance basis if he was just going to sign all the ROH guys to AEW anyway https://t.co/LOYJmU2WzU
Josh Woods, who once worked for WWE in 2014-16, has seemingly signed a contract with AEW.
After making several sporadic appearances on YouTube's Dark tapings late last year, Woods made his Dynamite debut during the Fight For The Fallen special event.
He laid waste to Keith Lee backstage following Swerve Strickland's handicap victory over Tony Nese and Mark Sterling. Fightful Select reported that the former ROH Pure Champion signed a 'tiered' deal with AEW almost a month ago. His contract could be similar to that of Rush and Cole Kartner, who have made appearances on the flagship show in the last few weeks.
We hope this is true. The company appears to have already set up a storyline angle involving Nese and Woods potentially joining forces to challenge Swerve in Our Glory ahead of the All Out pay-per-view.
However, Mr. Khan should make Josh Woods exclusive to ROH once the sister promotion inks a TV deal.
#3. Hopefully not true: An anonymous AEW star claiming they'd have resigned with WWE if Triple H was in power?
Fightful has spoken to numerous talent -- both free agents and talent in other companies -- who said they believe they'd still be with WWE if Triple H had been in his current roles sooner.
Full story with a lot of interesting notes coming to FightfulSelect.com soon https://t.co/dz4KyI77ud
It's not just the WWE roster who's heaving a sigh of relief after Triple H took over the reins of head of creative and talent relations.
Fightful Select recently learned that several former NXT Superstars, including one in AEW, claimed that they would have stayed with WWE had The Cerebral Assassin been promoted to his current role earlier.
Another AEW star told Sean Ross Sapp that although they were skeptical of being "creatively satisfied" if pushed to the main roster, they would have re-signed if the management had changed before they left. However, one of these anonymous names is glad they jumped ship to All Elite Wrestling.
We hope this report is not true. Tony Khan dismissed the rumor by divulging that Malakai Black and Adam Cole have signed five-year deals with AEW.
However, by no means did Mr. Khan's statement suggest that these men spoke to dirt sheets. The AEW President could have referenced Black and Cole's names to shoot down the reports.
#2. Hopefully not true: Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly are still not medically cleared
Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish, and The Young Bucks will return for a segment on the upcoming episode of Dynamite.
With the company announcing an imminent tournament to crown the inaugural World Trios Champion at All Out, fans are rooting for The Undisputed Elite to be frontrunners in this tournament.
However, Dave Meltzer recently provided an unfortunate update on Cole and O'Reilly, revealing that the two haven't been medically cleared to compete in the ring yet:
"He’s [Cole] not cleared, but he will be there for an appearance. I don’t know his status, same for Kyle O’Reilly," noted Meltzer.
We hope this report turns out to be inaccurate. Cole and O'Reilly's absence from the in-ring competition could potentially spoil Kenny Omega's return storyline plans for the All Out event.
#1. Hopefully true: WWE reignites wrestling war with AEW?
With Triple H back in charge, is he planning to reignite the wrestling war between NXT and AEW?
Recent reports have indicated that WWE could hold NXT's next premium live event on September 4th during the Labor Day weekend. Whether or not it's a coincidence, the show happens to be on the same day as the All Out pay-per-view.
On that front, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE played an aggressive move against Tony Khan's promotion and their wrestling war is likely to heat up in the future:
"With this being his first move, what’s interesting is that, that is a very aggressive move against AEW. I think that the AEW vs. WWE is going to heat up. If it was up to AEW they would both mind their own business and all of that, but that never worked with Vince," said Meltzer.
He added:
"Although Vince had kind of stayed away from that. I guess this time with Paul Levesque and Stephanie [McMahon] there and Nick Khan running the show, people thought that they were only going to be interested in running their own stuff, but the bottom line, you were wrong," added Meltzer. (H/T: ITR)
We hope this is true. WWE probably wants to lure some eyeballs away from the All Out event. We've seen how Wednesday Night War prompted the two companies to bring out the best in them.
At the end of the day, fans will be in for a treat to watch compelling products on both sides if they don't end up running head-to-head on September 4th.