A current AEW champion may not be in a massive rush to re-sign with the company.
Contract negotiations and who will wrestle where have become a persistent topic in 2024 as many wrestlers in the top promotions look to which company they want to sign with for the next portion of their careers. With wrestlers such as Jade Cargill, Shawn Spears and Andrade all leaving the company in the past 12 months and going on to join WWE, the latest wrestler to sign with the competition may have been revealed.
As reported by SEScoops, FTW Champion Hook is interested in free agency options once his current deal with AEW expires. When SEScoops spoke to a source within WWE about the rising star, the response from someone familair with the recruitment process was “I can see WWE clearly being interested in him.”
The son of former ECW Champion Taz, the second-generation star made his in-ring debut in December 2021 on Rampage, defeating Fuego Del Sol in just over 3 minutes. The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil continued a streak of quick wins before defeating Ricky Starks in July 2022 to become the FTW Champion, the first title win of his career.
Hook would continue to be booked strongly and would briefly lose the FTW Championship to Jack Perry at Blood and Guts 2023 before regaining the title on the pre-show of All In, which is the match where Perry uttered the infamous ‘You know what this is? Real glass, go cry me a river’ line that led to the CM Punk altercation shortly afterwards.
In 2024, the FTW Champion picked up a victory over Chris Jericho and aligned himself with the Lionheart in the following weeks.
Another AEW Star Exploring Free Agency
Along with the FTW Champion reportedly looking to explore other options when his contract expires, Matt Hardy has done the same. Despite being offered a new deal, Hardy has chosen not to re-sign at this time and is officially a free agent.