"The guy who really lives the business is Tony Khan" - Former WWE employee discusses Edge's future amid AEW rumors
Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell recently spoke about Edge's chances of appearing in AEW amid doubts about the latter's future in pro wrestling.
Last week, PWTorch reported that Edge had shared with WWE what it could take to re-sign him, but the offer was seemingly refused. This fueled speculations that the Hall of Famer may be AEW-bound. However, he cleared the air later regarding his future, stating that the Stamford-based company had offered him a contract, and he was mulling over it.
On a recent episode of the Story Time with Dutch Mantell, Mantell mentioned that AEW was possibly the only company that could match or even better WWE's offer. He claimed Tony Khan often signs stars just for bragging rights, which could also happen with The Rated-R Superstar.
"Oh, I'm sure. That's [AEW] the only place that's gonna pay comparable money, and I heard, in some instances, more money than WWE would pay. The guy who really lives the business is Tony Khan. He will actually pay, I've heard extraordinary amounts, for talent just to have them, just to have the bragging rights that yeah, I've got this guy." [2:42 - 3:11]
You can watch the full video here:
Dutch Mantell feels Edge will have a lighter schedule in AEW
During the same conversation, Mantell stated that Edge was a homegrown WWE talent, and he was unlikely to consider joining AEW. However, Mantell noted that the 49-year-old star would have to work a much lighter schedule if he did.
"If he shows up in AEW, more power to him. The workweek would be shorter. The people in WWE, they work. And this is a long week for them, they work 3-4 days a week. That's a long week." [4:09 - 4:28]
Edge's last match for WWE was on the August 18, 2023, episode of SmackDown, where he defeated Sheamus in front of his hometown fans in Toronto. It will be interesting to see if the two parties can come to an agreement soon.
Do you think we will see the 11-time world champion jumping ship to AEW? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use the quotes from this article, please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and add a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.