Recently, it was easy to call Bandido the hottest free agent in professional wrestling. The fourth generation wrestler already had a reign as ROH World Champion to put to his name – but a high profile main event against Chris Jericho on AEW Dynamite ended up with him having contract offers from both All Elite Wrestling & WWE. We can now confirm that Bandido made his choice – and has signed a full time deal with AEW.
Bandido Signs With AEW
This would be confirmed by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, but comes as little shock. Bandido was on the fence on which way to go, but seemed to lean heavily towards continuing with AEW. His inclusion in the AEW World Championship Eliminator tournament was all the confirmation some fans needed, but in a year where Karl Anderson won a title in NJPW on a handshake deal or Jon Moxley worked without a contract in AEW? It’s hard to say what wrestlers are doing based on where they were booked.
Bandido meets RUSH in the first round of the tournament, with the match set for a live episode of AEW Rampage his Friday. With Ethan Page considered to be a favourite to move past Eddie Kingston on AEW Dynamite on Wednesday, a logical semi-finals match on that side of the bracket would be Bandido vs. Page. There is history from ROH between RUSH & Bandido, but both have a clean slate in AEW.
No Matter How Packed Your Roster Is, He’s Not Someone To Pass Up On
While there are concerns of roster bloat in AEW, Bandido is not someone you pass up on if you have a chance to sign him. His talent is already clear in the ring, and he’s one of the fastest rising stars in the industry. During his match with Chris Jericho, he was constantly compared to Eddie Guerrero, which is high praise to be received – and was warranted.
With solid booking behind him, Bandido has potential to be the big hispanic star in the company, even above Rey Fenix, Andade El Idolo, RUSH, and Penta El Zero Miedo. AEW is hoping to branch into new markets in 2023 as well, and having Bandido on the card doesn’t hurt the chances of increased ticket sales in a potential show in Mexico.
What is the ceiling of Bandido in AEW? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get TheOvertimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
