THIS AEW Star Reveals WWE Contacted Him After AEW Contract Offer

Having been in the business since 2004, WWE only reached out to this talent once AEW got serious.

by Andrew Pollard
Evil Uno
AEW.com

During a recent appearance on Talk Is Jericho, Evil Uno revealed how WWE only ever reached out to him after AEW had put a contract offer on the table for Uno and Stu Grayson’s Super Smash Brothers tandem.

When asked by Chris Jericho whether the team had ever had any contract with WWE over the years, Evil Uno explained:

“Surprisingly enough, the only tryout offer I got was once I was offered a contract here [AEW]. I never seeked for it either. In my first, I’d say, nine years I just thought it was an impossible feat, because I wasn’t ginormous, I’m a little masked guy who’s a video game character, and I’m from Canada. So in my mind, I was like, ‘That’s not even my goal’ because I had instilled in my brain as a kid that I’m a kid and I can’t get there.”

In some ways, this situation mirrors that of several other current AEW stars, where WWE was quick to show interest once there was a chance that a talent was about to become #All Elite. In particular, Powerhouse Hobbs has spoken openly about how the same thing happened to him – and that he swiftly told WWE to go f**k themselves when they reached out to him shortly after he made his AEW debut.

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From Player Uno and Stupefied/Player Dos as the Super Smash Brothers, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson would make their surprise AEW debut at Double or Nothing 2019 - the company's inaugural PPV - and kickstart the Dark Order.

Senior Writer
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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, Jamie Hayer, 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.