5 Wrestlers who turned down AEW Contracts
The wrestling world is paying attention to AEW. Every move they make is being analyzed, scrutinized and evaluated by various critics. Tony Khan and his crew have been able to attract wrestlers from various promotions to sign with their company and are creating waves while doing so.
The roster is impressive for whom they have in the ranks. While Cody Rhodes had said that as of right now, only 40% of the roster has been revealed. This makes sense as they will need to add more wrestlers down the line as they head into their television debut on TNT.
Also Read: 10 Secret ingredients that AEW has when they debut on TNT
At the moment, the AEW roster has the right mix of experience, and youngsters. While there are some weaknesses, there are a lot of positives to take from it. For the known mainstream names, AEW has Jon Moxley, Cody Rhodes, Awesome Kong and Chris Jericho while their experienced wrestlers include PAC, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, SCU, Shawn Spears and The Lucha Bros.
The rest of the talent, who are the future of AEW, are wrestlers like Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, Britt Baker, MJF, Bea Priestley, Nyla Rose, Joey Janela, Penelope Ford, Private Party, Best Friends, The Dark Order, and Hangman Page. While this is impressive, AEW didn't get everyone they wanted.
Here are 5 wrestlers who turned down AEW.
#5 Kota Ibushi
Kenny Omega's old tag team partner from NJPW and one half of the Golden Lovers, Kota Ibushi is one of the best talents in NJPW. The team was one of the more popular acts in NJPW and Omega remains friends with the Japanese star. After Wrestle Kingdom, AEW did make an offer and Ibushi turned them down.
In an interview with Weekly Pro Wrestling, he revealed why he turned the company down.
"I turned them down just after Wrestle Kingdom. If I went, it would be the end of my career. There wouldn’t be anywhere else to go after that. No step up, nothing left to do. That would be the last step to make, and after that things would just go down. Great money, but I want to keep developing… This is the last decision I will make in my career. I’ll end my wrestling career in NJPW."
Kenny Omega said, during Starrcast 3, that he would like Ibushi in the company. Would it happen down the line? If AEW continues to grow, there is always a possibility in the near future.