Former WWE star Baron Corbin has discussed what he plans to do next in the wrestling world and why joining the AEW roster is not his intended path right now.
In November 2024, Corbin informed the world that his contract would not be renewed by the promotion when it expires and he was set to become a free agent. Given his lengthy tenure in the company, many were surprised by the news while also curious about where the former United States Champion would appear next.
Competing under his real name of Tom Pestock, the former Corbin made his return to the ring on January 19th at The People vs. GCW in a Bloodsport match against Josh Barnett.
With Pestock being a notable name in the wrestling world and a good in-ring worker, few would be surprised to see some of the major promotions present him with an offer to join their company. However, when it comes to AEW, Pestock does not want to sign with Tony Khan’s promotion immediately.
“I Wouldn’t Want To Be Another Guy [In AEW]”: Baron Corbin
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Pestock was asked about the possibility of signing with AEW, New Japan or TNA now that he is a free agent, to which the former United States Champion responded that he wanted to re-establish his new persona as opposed to being one of many ex-WWE guys who have joined All Elite Wrestling:
“I would love to go to New Japan for multiple reasons, and the door never closes with WWE either. And as far as AEW, their fans, they like that AEW in a sense is its own entity and built from the ground up. If I went there out of respect for that world, I wouldn’t want to be just another WWE guy that came there because they left WWE.
I would rather go and do New Japan for a year or more, who knows? Maybe that’s where I just love it and I stay there for the rest of my wrestling career. So if I ever did go that route, I would want to kind of clear that oh he’s just a WWE guy coming over. Baron Corbin is dead as far as we know, we’re dropping new name, new moniker, new character. I love wrestling. I love the creativeness of it. I love the freedom. I love performing in front of an audience and getting that live feedback in the moment. There’s nothing better.”
In a separate interview, a former WWE star spoke about potentially joining AEW.
If you use any quotes from this article please credit the source and leave a h/t to ITR Wrestling.