Tony Khan Expects Bidding War With WWE For Top AEW Stars
Is Cody Rhodes just the first big AEW star to be wooed by WWE?
With Cody Rhodes' recent WWE return dominating the headlines lately, AEW President Tony Khan has been discussing Cody's AEW exit and how he fully believes that there'll be major biddings wars between WWE and AEW in the future.
Of course, the American Nightmare is the first big-name player to opt to leave AEW and head to WWE. Speaking during an interview with ESPN's Marc Raimondi (via Wrestling Inc.), Khan expects there to be more movement between the two promotions in the future.
"We have a lot of great wrestlers here. I expect there probably will be, down the road, interest in some of them because we're putting on such strong shows. I think there's bound to be free agent movement on both sides of the competition. I think it's great for the wrestlers."
The AEW CEO also added how it's not unusual to see stars moving from one promotion to another, although he did state how "it is now a little different to see a star from AEW go onto WWE television". Khan admitted that a top name switching from AEW to WWE was "bound to happen sooner or later" - and that has now come to be.
In terms of Cody Rhodes, Tony had plenty of praise for the former AEW EVP and wished him nothing but the best. As for Rhodes' WWE return, Khan said Cody didn't outright tell him that was happening but that "it was obvious that was what was happening".
Having departed AEW alongside his wife Brandi in February, Rhodes returned to WWE in grand fashion, picking up a win over Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38 in a barn-burner of a bout.