Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman were released by WWE due to budget cuts while Ric Flair parted ways with WWE over a dispute about the booking of Charlotte Flair in which he claims to have requested his release.
In an interview with The Ring Report, AEW color commentator Paul Wight was asked about these stars potentially joining AEW.
“Absolutely [they could fit in,” Wight said. “There has been an influx of talent. For whatever reason, WWE has gone in a different direction with what they’re doing as a company. Their business line is beyond me and they do their own thing and it works for them. They’ve had great success with it. The biggest difference that I can relate to anyone outside is that AEW is a wrestling company, but also one dedicated to the talent. It’s about the fans, but also about the talent versus about being just about the company.”
“We have talents who are available and if they make their way to AEW, it will result in an incredible amount of freedom for them to continue entertaining the fans and to continue to grow. Anyone now who has been in this business long enough is smart enough to see where momentum is going and you’ve got to agree that it’s with AEW. It’s got a great groundswell of support from fans who are really into the product. The storylines are unique. They have a different flavour and excitement about them. I made the transition myself because after four decades, I left as I could see the writing on the wall of where professional wrestling was headed.”
“For those other talents like Bray Wyatt, Braun, Ric Flair, and all those guys, there’s always an opportunity for people of that caliber to be a part of AEW and contribute,” Wight said. “That’s the thing with wrestling. You never say never. It would be great to see those guys come in and be it’d be great to see some of the young AEW talent get the chance to interact with guys who have seen that massive stardom and how that molds your performances and in-ring psychology. They can learn from that and prepare these young AEW talents for what’s coming in the future, giving them the opportunity to grow and be part of what’s going to be a globally impactful company.”