It’s a common concept in the modern landscape of the professional wrestling industry, especially since the launch of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, the notion of the free agent market continues to be a shifting dynamic in the business, particularly with its impact on talent, as well as the fans.
It must be said that there are undoubtedly positives and negatives to the bidding war to secure talent on both sides of the fence within the industry in the United States. Tony Khan has offered a comical amount of contracts, seemingly signing talent to his roster just to get them under a deal without a specific plan for them on his show. In somewhat of a response or perhaps a strategic maneuver to further its reach within the business, the WWE has recruited former All Elite talent, often making them bigger stars in a relatively short period of time as compared to a few years under the Tony Khan banner. Another aspect is the newly-launched WWE ID program, which takes a very minimal investment from the company, simply for the ability to have the right of first refusal if the talent are offered a deal elsewhere. If the developmental system sees someone with potential, they can put them on the radar to see how they progress on the independent circuit, and if a few of those competitors make it to the main roster as even a mid-card star, the program would be more than worth it. Plus, it essentially freezes AEW out of the recruitment of that talent, and in a worst case scenario, if the WWE office doesn’t think a talent has made enough progress to stay in the system, the organization can allow them to exit the deal to sign with another promotion.
The point being that WWE has created an opportunity for the organization to have first pick at the young talent on the independent scene, which is such a key as far as a way to dictate the overall development of the industry. Sure, it’s on a more fundamental level since, by nature, the ID program is designed for talent that don’t have the experience to be ready for main roster television, but it’s still a critical step in terms of the overall building blocks of the genre. Along with that, there’s the TNA working agreement that allows for them to cherry-pick wrestlers that have found themselves in a smaller pond and present a more polished package to the main stream stage of the WWE. For example, Drew McIntyre needed a place to reinvent himself after he was typecast as a comedy character before his WWE release years ago. In a similar fashion, Cody Rhodes needed to be able to discover himself as the American Nightmare gimmick outside of the WWE bubble. Both of them, particularly Cody with his current role, are two of the biggest stars in the WWE today as a result of the opportunity to rejuvenate their careers.
So, TNA can be a platform for talent to get the critical television experience, as well as a way for former WWE talent, with The Hardys being the prime example currently, to extend their run as stars during the latter portion of their careers.
Of course, the WWE has its own developmental territory within the Performance Center and the NXT brand so the development of talent can take place on multiple fronts at different stages of a wrestler’s career path.
The combination of the ID program, the TNA working agreement, and the Performance Center are basically a way of expanding the WWE’s overall reach within the business. As a result of that, there are naturally less resources and options for All Elite Wrestling.
That’s why the latest round of potential free agents to hit the market could be somewhat of a reflection of the shifting dynamics of the business as a whole.
According to a report from Tokyo Sports, Mina Shirakawa is set to depart Stardom, prompting speculation that she will ink a deal with All Elite. The signing in itself wouldn’t be too surprising since Shirakawa has appeared on All Elite programming before, with her most recent appearance in December of last year, but this scenario speaks to how the competition in the United States continues to have an affect on the Japanese scene, as several top talent from the country were offered lucrative deals, particularly within the past eight or nine years, to relocate to America. As far back as 2016, the WWE saw the popularity of the Bullet Club in New Japan, bringing in AJ Styles, who was more or less immediately booked at the top of the card in the Japanese league after his exit from TNA, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson as a team, as well as Shinsuke Nakamura. Injuries derailed Kenta’s career in the WWE and he never truly had a chance to show his skills, but there was a time when he was a top-tier worker for Pro Wrestling NOAH several years ago. It should also be noted that both Asuka and Iyo Sky were among the top workers in Japan when they were offered WWE contracts. The laundry list of talent that Tony Khan has signed away from New Japan is almost every top guy that the company had, aside from Hiroshi Tanahashi, who is set to retire after this year, and Tetsuya Naito, one of the most popular on the NJPW roster, but a grappler that has taken too much of a toll on his body from years of a risky style to consider a jump to the United States at this point in his career.
The problem is, while the Japanese scene was key in the cultivation of talent that went on to a bigger platform and make bigger money in the United States, the sheer amount of talent signed away has left much of the wrestling scene in the country without depth in terms of money-drawing stars. With Stardom under the umbrella of NJPW, the organization will remain stable, but Mina Shirakawa takes another popular star off the roster. If Shirakawa has a major run in All Elite is truly 50/50 because it’s possible that she gets a level of spotlight based on her previous association with Mariah May and Toni Storm, but it’s also equally as possible that she gets lost in the shuffle.
Speaking of Mariah May, Fightful Select recently reported that her contract with the company could expire later this year, with some speculation that she might be able to explore her options with a possible offer from WWE if she chooses to test the free agent market. Of course, this is a part of the rumor mill so most of it has to be taken with a grain of salt. However, it’s somewhat of a catch-22 as May has undoubtedly increased her stock as a heel with her recent feud with Toni Storm, but at the same rate, it’s tough to have faith in any true talent development from a Tony Khan booking style. If I had to guess, I’d say that the speculation will be a moot point, as Mariah May will probably be one of the talents that Tony will be overpay to keep her on the roster, similar to when he re-signed Swerve Strickland last year.
On the other end of the spectrum. Saraya, the former Paige in WWE, recently said on Booker T’s podcast that she would be open for a return to the WWE. Considering that she’s still under contract to AEW until September of this year and she’s willing to say this publicly, I’d guess that it’s more or less a foregone conclusion that she’s leaving All Elite. In another recent interview, she noted that one of the reason that she signed with All Elite was to help her brother get an opportunity in a major organization. He was recently released from the company. I think it goes without say that minus a brief title run, Saraya’s tenure in the promotion hasn’t rejuvenated her career the way she hoped. With her history of serious neck injuries, it remains to be seen if a return to the WWE would be possible. Still, it’s another example of how money is no object for Tony when he had a former WWE star that you’d think was getting paid at least decent money under contract for the past few years and she’s nowhere to be found on television.
Finally, there are reports that Josh Alexander, who finished up with TNA a few months ago, has decided to sign an AEW contract. Of course, the risk of being lost in the shuffle and forgotten about is always going to be a concern with the Tony Khan product. That’s not meant as a knock, but rather a realistic assessment of the company. That being said, according to The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, AEW offered him a better deal. Given that Alexander has been one of the better workers anywhere in the industry for the past several years and simply hasn’t gotten the opportunity to showcase his skills on a bigger stage than TNA, it makes sense that he took the best money possible, especially because he hasn’t had the chance to sign a major contract yet. This was a situation where you’d think that Alexander would have a natural transition to WWE given their working relationship with TNA, but if Tony wants to offer more cash then you can’t blame Alexander for taking the better contract. However, this is where the concept of the ID program is key, as the right of first refusal is a way to prevent Khan from outbidding for potential prospects in the future. I have to be honest, I have no idea how Josh Alexander will used in All Elite Wrestling. As mentioned, Tony’s booking is unpredictable, as far as who is spotlighted and who is completely forgotten about, but if nothing else, it’s good to see Alexander finally get a major money contract in his career.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
