wrestling / News
Some AEW Talents Reportedly Interested In Going To WWE
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that there are said to be a few people in AEW who are hoping to go to WWE and make main roster salaries. However, they have been told by friends in the company to wait until 2024, as AEW may be able to offer them more money then.
It largely depends on what the company earns with its next TV deal, which is hard to gauge right now. AEW Dynamite has been bringing in strong ratings for TBS and TNT, routinely in the top five of television for the night. However, there’s no word on whether Discovery will want to keep wrestling after the merger with WarnerMedia. If Discovery wants to keep wrestling and AEW gets a significant rights increase in 2024, that will give them more money to sign talent to bigger deals. Their current deal with WarnerMedia runs through the end of 2023.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics has predicted that AEW will triple its rights fees, which would be around $135 million annually. Others have predicted around $90 million. This would make the company very profitable. It would also help them retain their top talent, as if WWE is interested, they would likely try to bid on them.