Cole Karter has reportedly signed a contract with AEW.
As noted, the former Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan of WWE NXT made his return to AEW at last Saturday’s Dark tapings in Orlando, his first match for AEW since 2021. Karter then worked last night’s Fyter Fest Night 2 edition of AEW Dynamite, answering the Open Challenge issued by FTW Champion Ricky Starks
In an update, a new report from Fightful Select notes that Karter is “under an AEW deal,” according to multiple sources.
Karter reportedly told some AEW talents about the deal, but other AEW sources noted that he is likely signed to a “tiered deal.”
Karter, who is in a relationship with NXT 2.0 Superstar Thea Hail, was signed by WWE as part of the mid-March WWE Performance Center Class that featured names like Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion Roxanne Perez, Sloane Jacobs, and Arianna Grace, among others. He and Stacks eventually were put together as a tag team, and soon after they were aligned with Tony D’Angelo as The Family.
Karter was released from his WWE contract on June 11 after reportedly failing a drug test, but the substance he tested positive for was never revealed. It was noted then that officials told Karter how they might bring him back to the company in a year or so. Karter issued a statement on June 13 to confirm the departure, and said he will be back from this “bump in the road,” and that “mistakes happen and lessons are learned.” You can click here for his full statement. Karter was recently written out of the company as Tony D sent him to “sleep with the fishes” for trying to make a play for his spot at the top of The Family.
The match with Starks was actually Karter’s second Dynamite bout. Before signing with WWE, he made his AEW debut at the April 7, 2021 Elevation tapings, teaming with Andrew Palace for a loss to QT Marshall and Nick Comoroto. He then took a loss to Lance Archer at the Dark tapings that same night, and made his Dynamite debut with a loss to Anthony Ogogo on the April 14, 2021 episode. He then worked the following matches for AEW: teamed with Brick Aldridge for a loss to The Butcher and The Blade at the April 14, 2021 Dark tapings; came up short against Colt Cabana at the April 21, 2021 Dark tapings; teamed with Palace and Spencer Slade for a loss to Cabana, Evil Uno and Alan “5” Angels at the May 5, 2021 Dark tapings; teamed with Luther and Serpentico for a loss to Death Triangle at the August 13, 2021 Dark tapings; teamed with Sean Maluta and Darian Bengston for a loss to Marshall, Comoroto and Aaron Solo at the September 11, 2021 Dark tapings; and teamed with Arjun Singh and Carlie Bravo for a Handicap Match loss to Paul Wight at the October 23, 2021 Elevation tapings.
Karter faced enhancement talent Mike Orlando in his AEW return at last Saturday’s Dark tapings from Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. You can click here for spoilers from those tapings.
Karter, who received positive social media feedback for last night’s Dynamite match, commented after the show and wrote, “Swimming with the sharks now.”
In an apparent reference to how he was written out of the NXT storylines, Karter tweeted before Dynamite, “Ain’t dead yet [star emoji] @AEW”
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more. Below are the aforementioned tweets:
Swimming with the sharks now. https://t.co/MLH7cp3PKx
— Cole Karter (@realcolekarter) July 21, 2022
Ain’t dead yet ⭐️ @AEW pic.twitter.com/VGg3eE0oiK
— Cole Karter (@realcolekarter) July 20, 2022
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