"A Lot" Of AEW Stars Want Out Of Contracts, "Glut Of Talent" To Leave Over Next 18 Months (AEW News)
The independent scene could see a "glut" of workers if Tony Khan makes AEW cuts.
Bryan Alvarez caused a stir on Wrestling Observer Live when he said there are "a lot of people in AEW" who want out of their current contracts. According to Alvarez, All Elite kingpin Tony Khan would rather those wrestlers sat at home whilst he continued paying them for the duration of their deals.
He doesn't want to release them.
Even so, if workers don't like what's going on and thus don't agree to extensions, then their contracts will "quietly expire". Bryan figures a lot of those 'quiet expirations' are incoming for AEW over the next 18 months or so, and that'd put "a glut of talent" right back on the independent scene (or maybe even in WWE's crosshairs depending on who it is).
Generally, those who can't find any house room at all on Dynamite or Collision are sent to ROH. That's been the way of it since Khan purchased Ring Of Honor in March 2022. However, Honor's status on core AEW programming has been fleeting for years now, and it's fair to say it's the brand fans as a whole have lost interest in.
There's only so much wrestling people can watch, basically.
This news comes hot on the heels of concurrent reports that Ilja Dragunov won't be the last worker cut loose by WWE before the end of the year. Dragunov let his deal expire, and the 32 year old workhorse will now seek fresh challenges. Ironically, could he find a spot on the AEW roster whilst others sit on the couch?