Current AEW Champion JUMPS SHIP To WWE! (AEW News)

Powerhouse Hobbs is DONE with AEW.

by Andrew Pollard
Powerhouse Hobbs
AEW

In a somewhat shocking development, Powerhouse Hobbs is done with AEW and is set to join WWE.

Per Fightful Select, Hobbs' AEW contract expired at midnight, and the 34-year-old finished up with the company at last night's Collision tapings that followed the live Dynamite broadcast.

This report notes that talks have been ongoing between Powerhouse Hobbs and AEW, with the promotion said to have made a "huge" and "substantial offer" for the Opps man to remain #AllElite.

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As for the WWE side of this, from those Fightful has spoken to within WWE, he is expected to join the market leader, which comes on the heels of WWE having had long-standing interest in Hobbs. Unless something unforeseen happens, Powerhouse is on his way to WWE and is contractually eligible to do so immediately.

This comes on the heels of reports over the weekend that WWE was pushing to sign Powerhouse Hobbs, although there were no details at that time on when Hobbs' existing AEW deal was up. As it turns out, that deal was up a lot earlier than many would have thought, and Hobbs is now a free agent.

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Of course, Powerhouse Hobbs is currently one-third of the AEW Trios Champions alongside Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata. As mentioned, Hobbs finished up after last night's Collision tapings, where, no spoilers, per se, but the fate of the Trios Titles will be addressed on this Saturday's Collision episode.

In terms of Powerhouse Hobbs and AEW, Fightful adds that Hobbs leaves Tony Khan's promotion on good terms, and this was a case of the former TNT Champion wanting to test the waters elsewhere. This report also states that WWE previously had interest in Powerhouse several years ago, when Dan Ventrelle was heading up talent relations, but Hobbs opted to stay with AEW at that time.

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Powerhouse Hobbs had been with AEW since 2020, initially working as an enhancement talent on AEW Dark before becoming a formal part of the roster. By November of that year, he'd turned heel and joined Team Taz, and would later have spells in Q.T. Marshall's QTV group, the Don Callis Family, and more recently as part of the Opps, as well as spells as a singles act.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.