On the latest episode of AEW Dynamite, Tony Khan wasted no time playing one of his biggest cards of the night. The show would open with the debut of Jay White – who is officially part of the All Elite Wrestling roster.
This came after a few weeks of speculation following White’s exit from New Japan Pro Wrestling – with WWE & AEW as potential landing spots. However, the option of signing with WWE might have been closed before White even had the chance.
A Hiring Freeze Came To WWE Along With Sale, Locking Jay White & Nick Aldis Out
Following WrestleMania 39, news would break that WWE was purchased by Endeavor Group Holdings, who paid $9.3 billion for a 51% share of the company – making them the majority owners.
Endeavor is best known for their purchase of the UFC in 2016. This deal was finalised over WrestleMania weekend, but was likely in play well before that day.
One thing that came with this was a hiring freeze. When companies are potentially merging, the last thing you need is new employees coming in – and this has effected a few potentially major signings for WWE.
Jay White is perhaps the biggest, with many fans expecting him at WrestleMania 39 – and now having a contract with WWE’s main rival.
Another name potentially affected is former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis.
Triple H has reportedly been high on Aldis, but has not been able to hire him due to the current hiring freeze. This is one that might be able to sit until things are more certain, as unlike White – Aldis has not yet signed elsewhere.
Triple H Worked To Bring Back As Many Names Before A Freeze Happened?
This hiring freeze could potentially explain Triple H’s wild hiring patterns in 2022 – as after Vince McMahon stepped down as head of creative in WWE – he’d bring back many released talents.
The likes of Bronson Reed, Dakota Kai, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Hit Row, Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae & more were seemingly rushed back to the company.
A working theory is that Triple H had known about the plans to sell WWE, and was working to bring back as many talent as possible before he was unable to refresh the roster.
His rapid hiring left many to wonder why talent was being brought back without plans – and the answer to that might simply be because had he waited, these talent would have not been able to be brought back into WWE.
With the WWE Draft set to come after WWE Backlash, it’s likely we will see some storyline resets and more of these talent really find those featured roles.
It’s unclear how long the hiring freeze in WWE will persist for, and if exceptions could be made. Reports have pointed that this is simply for the main roster, meaning prospects for NXT could still be signed – with WWE mainly focusing on promising college athletes.
Who are names that WWE would break a hiring freeze to bring in? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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