Powerhouse Hobbs is officially done with AEW.
But fans shouldn’t expect an immediate WWE debut just yet.
Hobbs’ AEW contract expired at midnight on January 15, making him a free agent and eligible to appear elsewhere. His final AEW match is still scheduled to air on the January 17 episode of AEW Collision, where he drops the Trios Titles.
That timing briefly opened the door for Hobbs to potentially appear on WWE television while still technically featured on AEW programming. However, that scenario does not appear to be in play, at least not in the form of a live appearance.
Sources indicate that Hobbs was not scheduled to travel to Europe for this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown, nor was he expected to be backstage for the show. While WWE could have made a late move to bring him in ahead of time, that ultimately did not happen.
So while the door is open, it’s not opening today.
Behind the scenes, Hobbs is still widely expected to land in WWE if he hasn’t already finalized a deal. WWE interest in Hobbs isn’t new either, as the company has monitored him for years and intensified its pursuit in recent months.
It now appears to be a matter of “when,” not “if.”
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(H/T: Fightful Select)
