4 Former WWE Superstars who have been approached by AEW
It's a great time to be a pro wrestling fan. The same statement, in all honesty, doesn't apply to Vince McMahon though. Sitting back in a cozy office in Stamford Connecticut, the WWE head honcho would surely be getting uneasy throwbacks of the Monday Night Wars.
It's too soon to jump to conclusions, but All Elite Wrestling is making all the right noises as they look to offer a large section of dissatisfied Sports Entertainment fans a viable alternative of pro wrestling. WWE is a global brand; and AEW, despite all the palpable hype, has a long way to go before they can even think of giving WWE a run for their money. For starters, AEW hasn't even had their first proper show yet.
That doesn't mean there is no potential because as stated earlier, AEW is the talk of the town and that is partly due to its aggressive talent poaching strategies. Backed by the filthy rich Khan Familly, Cody Rhodes and co. have set their eyes on mustering up their roster with top talents from around the world. They aren't even shying away from going after current WWE Superstars such as Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton. The audacity!
In addition to stars who are on WWE's payroll, AEW has also approached former WWE Superstars with contracts that would make Floyd Mayweather consider a full-time pro wrestling gig. This slider takes a look at those former WWE names that have reportedly had talks with AEW's management. It should be noted that stars such as Chris Jericho and Neville, who have already confirmed to be a part of AEW, have not been included in this list.
#1. Jack Swagger
The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion has taken to MMA like Jon Jones to Turinabol. Swagger put on an impressive display of his amateur wrestling background in his MMA debut as he finished of JW Kiser with the Arm Triangle Choke in the very first round at Bellator 214.
Despite being a fighter now, Swagger hasn't completely given up on his pro wrestling traits as he used the 'We the People' catchphrase and also had R-Truth accompany him to the cage at Bellator 214.
It seems like Swagger still has a bit of sports entertainment left in him. He revealed in one of his pre-fight interviews about his talks with Cody Rhodes regarding joining AEW. Swagger mentioned that his rigorous MMA training hasn't allowed him to think of a parallel wrestling career. However, it is possible as made evident by Bobby Lashley, who worked for both Bellator and TNA at one point in time.
The talks have happened and it will be interesting to see whether they do materialize in the near future. For now, Swagger is focussed on his second MMA fight which will take place at Bellator 221 against T.J. Jones.