WWE "Going Hard" To Sign Top AEW Stars?
Several huge AEW contracts are up this year - and WWE is in hot pursuit.
WWE is expected to "go hard" for top AEW stars this year, with several of the latter promotion's top stars currently working on contracts due to expire later in 2023.
Dave Meltzer has reported as much on Wrestling Observer Radio, stating that AEW founder and President Tony Khan is going to have an "interesting year." A number of key AEW contracts expire in 2023. The company's biggest competitor, WWE, will "go hard for almost everyone good", though it isn't a one-way situation.
A number of big WWE contracts are going to be up, too. Khan may look to improve his product's perception, making it more attractive to prospective signings, with Meltzer citing AEW's financial stability and an easier schedule.
Currently, however, people within WWE do not have that perception of AEW.
Among the AEW wrestlers working on soon-to-expire deals are Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and FTR. Omega is understood to have had time added onto a contract originally set to expire this February due to injury. The Bucks are up towards the end of 2023, while FTR's Dax Harwood has claimed that he and Cash Wheeler are on deals expiring in April.