AEW President Tony Khan says that he needs to start being “more discerning” about the number of free agents he signs to his company in 2022.
In a year that’s seen WWE release over 80 wrestlers and multiple high level contracts expire, the quality of free agents on the market available to AEW is better than ever before. 2021 saw an influx of talent becoming All Elite with the company signing Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Ruby Soho, and most notably the returning CM Punk, who hadn’t wrestled since quitting the WWE in 2014.
As the roster becomes more and more stacked with incredible talent, it’s natural to wonder if AEW President Tony Khan will continue to sign top stars from other companies or whether it’s time to slow down to avoid overcrowding.
Speaking to TVInsider, Tony Khan revealed that he does need to start being more calculated about which talent to sign as more free agents become available because the roster is so strong as is.
I do think I have to be more discerning than ever in talent acquisition because we have such a strong roster. I was aggressively expanding with the launch of Rampage.
We made some big signings in the past including CM Punk. Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, Ruby Soho, Thunder Rosa, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Andrade El Idolo, Malakai Black. Christian Cage and many others.
We’ve also continued our partnerships with great international companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA. We have a lot of great talent working, but it’s time for me to be more discerning than ever in terms of acquisitions.
However, this isn’t to say that AEW is putting a hold on signing new talent entirely. When asked if he would continue to add to the roster in 2022, Tony Khan confirmed that he would.
Yes. We will continue expanding the roster. Absolutely, there will be more people coming into AEW.
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