On April 3rd it was announced that WWE had secured a monster deal with Endeavor that would see the sports entertainment giant merge with UFC.
As a result of the merger, a new company will be formed with Vince McMahon serving as the Executive Chairman.
This was followed by speculation that there was something of an unofficial hiring freeze within WWE, meaning they were no longer looking to sign new talent. Or at least wouldn’t be until the deal involving Endeavor and UFC was finalised. Although this was followed by a report that suggested a number of people within the company were pushing for WWE to bring in Brian Cage whose contract with AEW had expired.
However, Cage has since signed a new deal with AEW, believed to be for five years.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that talk of a hiring freeze is false, furthermore, WWE remains in talks with “new significant performers.”
“There is also no hiring freeze as has been reported in many places. WWE is still business as usual when it comes to hiring and in talks with new significant performers.”
WWE Recently Missed Out On Jay White
The news comes after WWE missed out on signing former New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Jay White. It had been something of an open secret for months that WWE was interested in Switchblade, while talks had been held between the two sides.
However, any rumours of a potential deal were well and truly put to bed when White appeared on the April 5th episode of AEW Dynamite. It was later announced that the star had officially signed with the company.
Following the move it was reported that WWE had “failed to communicate properly along the process.” The report added that White joining AEW could have been impacted by Vince McMahon’s return and a lack of recent main roster hires.