AEW News & Rumor Roundup - Top star set to leave? Disappointing update before Grand Slam; Major hint at free agent picking AEW over WWE
Welcome back to another edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's AEW News and Rumor roundup. Today we're going to take a look at stories involving WWE, Tony Khan, and more.
A major hint emerged about a 37-year-old star's future. Mariah May takes shots at Toni Storm ahead of their match at Grand Slam: Australia. So, without any further ado let's dive into all of these stories:
#4. Another major AEW star may be close to leaving the promotion
It seems that as of late many stars from the All Elite Wrestling roster have been exiting the promotion. Top stars such as Malakai Black, Miro, and Ricky Starks have all confirmed to have left Tony Khan's promotion in the last few days.
Now, a new report has come forward that Rey Fenix is set to be released from his contract soon as well. The former International Champion was speculated to join his brother Penta in WWE but instead had to stay in All Elite Wrestling due to injury time being added to his contract.
Sportskeeda's own Dr. Chris Featherstone recently took to X/Twitter to state that Tony Khan and Rey Fenix are currently working on the latter's release. He indicated that a decision would be made soon and Khan would finally end all the drama that came with Fenix's contract status.
#3. Disappointing AEW update ahead of Grand Slam Australia
AEW Grand Slam: Australia has gathered a considerable amount of hype going into February 15 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. The promotion recently also put on an amazing episode of Dynamite ahead of the event that featured The Death Riders going against Adam Copeland and Jay White.
However, even though the episode was quite good, viewership for Dynamite has continued to decline. According to a report from Wrestlenomics, Dynamite garnered a total viewership of only 579,000, compared to 605,000 last week. Furthermore, ratings for the show also declined, as the show received a 0.16, which is comparatively lower than last week's 0.17.
#2. Major hint that a 37-year-old star is headed to AEW instead of WWE
Josh Alexander's TNA contract is set to expire soon and fans have begun to speculate where he would land once it does. Many fans on the internet had assumed that the 37-year-old star would land in WWE and work under Triple H's creative.
Alexander has also recently shared a heartfelt post about his time in TNA and now all eyes are on him to see where he goes next. A new report from PWinsider Elite has hinted that the former TNA World Champion might join AEW instead of going to WWE.
Furthermore, Alexander has hired Barry Bloom as his agent for upcoming contract negotiations. Bloom has previously represented stars such as The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Will Ospreay. So it won't be surprising to see Josh join Tony Khan's promotion over WWE.
#1. Mariah May takes a personal shot at Toni Storm ahead of their match at Grand Slam: Australia
The feud between Mariah May and Toni Storm is raging among fans of All Elite Wrestling. The two stars have told an incredible story of jealousy and betrayal. After being in Storm's shadow, Mariah took over from The Timeless One and finally became the AEW Women's World Champion.
Storm and May are now set to potentially close their chapter at Grand Slam: Australia as they come head to head against each other for the first time since their match at All In London. The Glamour recently took a shot at her Grand Slam opponent on X (fka Twitter) ahead of their match in Australia.
The current AEW Women's World Champion shared a picture of herself at the Australia Zoo with a snake wrapped around her neck. She would then compare the snake to Timeless Toni Storm.
Even though Mariah May called Toni Storm a snake, it was ironically the former who stabbed her ex-friend in the back. We'll have to wait and see if Toni Storm finally gets her revenge on The Glamour at Grand Slam: Australia.