Former WWE Superstar's son accepts AEW contract to join Tony Khan's promotion
Nick Wayne, son of the late Buddy Wayne, has seemingly become the newest acquisition to the AEW roster.
During Saturday night's DEFY Year V event, the 17-year-old star's rising career took a turnaround after he unsuccessfully challenged Christopher Daniels for the Interim DEFY World Championship.
Following his impressive performance in the main event, Darby Allin made a surprising cameo appearance. The former TNT Champion wasted no time and offered an AEW contract to Nick Wayne. The entire arena broke out into deafening "yes" and "you deserve it" chants, which prompted Wayne to accept the deal with much enthusiasm.
Soon after, Bryan Alvarez shed light on Nick Wayne's contract situation. The wrestling journalist clarified that the rising star received an "apprenticeship deal," which means he would become an AEW contracted wrestler when he turns 18. Until then, Wayne has to finish up his high school studies.
Nick Wayne may not be a well-established name that wrestling enthusiasts would recognize easily, but he's hailed as a rising indie sensation.
Wayne started following in his father's footsteps at a very young age and made his pro wrestling in-ring debut at 12 years. Since then, he has wrestled with promotions like DEFY, GCW, and Black Label Pro.
Nick Wayne was recently spotted with AEW star Joey Janela
Although it will be a while before fans see Nick Wayne perform under the All Elite Wrestling umbrella, he's already hanging out with some of the stars from Tony Khan's promotion.
Wayne is mostly seen spending time with Joey Janela, who's also been his opponent on the independent circuit. Much to everybody's surprise, the 17-year-old picked up a victory over Janela at the DEFY Brutalist event last year.
A while ago, Nick Wayne expressed his desire to share the ring with Lio Rush. Unfortunately, the latter appears to be on his way out of All Elite Westling. Regardless, the former WWE Superstar's son won't be short of opponents in Tony Khan's promotion.
Are you excited to see Nick Wayne in AEW down the road? Sound off in the comments section below.