Backstage Update On Powerhouse Hobbs Signing With WWE (AEW News)
Word on where Powerhouse Hobbs could land on WWE TV after leaving AEW behind.
Now former AEW man Powerhouse Hobbs could debut as quickly as this Friday's episode of SmackDown if a deal is hurried over the line before then. WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select is reporting that WWE remain keen to get things done quickly, because Hobbs is somebody they've been chasing "over the course of a number of years".
The website also said that there's a solid chance Powerhouse will get an "altered" name when he debuts on WWE television - it could be something as simple as shortening it to Hobbs and nothing else. There'd certainly be nothing wrong with keeping the Powerhouse Hobbs moniker, but WWE does like to make things a little more bespoke.
For example, they switched Ricky Starks to Ricky Saints when he made the jump.
Sean Ross Sapp has reported that AEW entered contract negotiations with Hobbs and tried to keep him. During those negotiations, Tony Khan's company put several "huge" offers on the table, but it's believed that the wrestler himself "had made his mind up and tried to not burn bridges on the way out".
Sapp is also the one linking Hobbs to WWE's main roster, not NXT. Of course, it is possible that he hits the developmental brand (which has been plundered in recent weeks/months), but everyone will just need to wait and see.
However, Powerhouse's All Elite deal has officially expired. It ran out on 14 January, which frees him up to debut on WWE programming immediately. Will he show face on this week's episode of SmackDown? Nothing is impossible.