WWE Signings Thread

[snakebiteSB]

Only reason I see Okada going to NXT is to learn the TV side of things. But even then I don't think he really need it. I'd love it if he'd hurry up and make a decision. We might get him in 2k24 if WWE push hard enough for a late DLC. Can't see it, but imagine a final DLC pack that contains Punk & Okada. 

[glennsoe]

Credit pwinsider on wrestler likely NOT to sign with wwe

PWInsiderElite.com has been asked about the status of former NWA Women's Champion Kamille.  

We can confirm that at this time, she is no longer expected to be WWE-bound.  While there had been interest (and according to one WWE source in the past, had been offered an NXT deal), PWInsiderElite.com can confirm those discussions are not moving forward.    

We are told Kamille has been in "deep discussions" with AEW and that promotion has been seen as a stronger destination for her as it would allow her to pursue another major personal goal moving forward, additional acting work.  We are told that after Kamille's experience working on the forthcoming Mildred Burke biography film, where she will portray former NWA and AWA Women's Champion June Byers, she's been bitten by the acting bug in a major way and wants to pursue additional film and television work.  We are also told Kamille now has representation to assist her in that area as well.

Kamille exited the NWA at the onset of 2024 by her choice, opting out of a potential contract extension.

More as we confirm.

[Generations]

That's good, IMO. 

If she went to WWE, there would be some predictable feud with Nia Jax or Jade Cargill or something. - Of course, Kamille vs Rhea Ripley would have been awesome...but that's just a one and done thing...then what? I think AEW offers more with their expanding women's roster.

[glennsoe]

From Uncle Dave..

 

[glennsoe]

Credit pwinsider 

WWE's Kevin Owens revealed his WWE deal expires in nine months during an interview with Metro in the UK over the weekend.  You can read the entire piece by clicking here.

‘I really don’t take anything for granted, I’ve nine months left on my contact, and I don’t know what can happen from here on out,’ Owens stated.

In the piece, Owens noted that he doesn't have plans to leave the company.

WWE recently overhauled their Talent Relations department in the wake of a number of top contracts coming down to the wire.  Drew McIntyre recently signed what is believed to a three year deal while a number of other top stars, including Becky Lynch still have deals ticking down and will be priorities to lock in going forward.

[Jeb ★]

Heard he’s fantastic

[Generations]

That's fine and all...but there are already too many commentators. There's literally one good three-person team in pro wrestling right now, and it's Schiavone/Taz/Excalibur, because all they do is rib each other. - WWE's teams are notoriously bloated as it is.

Cole recently called a show on his own, and it was the most refreshing thing.

I mean...it would be awesome if they'd hire this guy and release Pat McAfee. But, I know better. We all know better.

Edited July 9 by Generations

[Jeb ★]

This happened way too fast lol dare I say poaching?

[Generations]

Such wildly depressing news. I didn't even want her to sign with AEW...really just wanted her to stay in CMLL. 

If things work out and WWE use her well...that's great. But I already have visions of her being stuck on NXT for a year, then moving to the main roster only to be stuck with LWO, get some bullshit theme song from Def Rebel...etc. 

Best case scenario...she makes some good money, sees that WWE isn't where she wants to be...and peaces out of there after a few years. In the meantime, I wish her the best. I just don't see it.

Edited July 10 by Generations

[glennsoe]

PWInsider.com has confirmed with a source close to Stephanie Vaquer that she has officially signed with WWE just weeks after competing at AEW's Forbidden Door PPV against Mercedes Mone.  Vaquer had a great performance in that match, with sources close to Mone confirming that she went into that bout seeking to "make" Vaquer.  The signing went down within the last week.

Vaquer, 31, has been pulled from the forthcoming New Japan Pro Wrestling Fantasticamania event in California, which NJPW and CMLL announced earlier today.  A NJPW source has also confirmed Vaquer was pulled as she was "signed elsewhere."

Vaquer is from Chile and debuted in that country in 2009 for the MCL promotion.  She debuted for CMLL in Mexico back in 2019 and has also worked for Toryumon in Mexico.  In 2022, she branched out to Japan, working for Sendai Girls and Tokyo Joshi Pro.  She debuted for New Japan Strong in 2023.

There is no word when she will make her WWE debut as of this writing.

[dje_wba]

Also been reported that she was backstage at NXT Heatwave this past Sunday. 

40 minutes ago, Generations said:

Best case scenario...she makes some good money, sees that WWE isn't where she wants to be...and peaces out of there after a few years.

Not quite sure how that is the best case scenario for her in WWE - surely the best case scenario is that she has a successful time there.

[Generations]

5 hours ago, dje_wba said:

Also been reported that she was backstage at NXT Heatwave this past Sunday. 

Not quite sure how that is the best case scenario for her in WWE - surely the best case scenario is that she has a successful time there.

Let me rephrase.

"Most likely scenario that gives her the best result, based on what is likely to occur."

I simply have zero faith that WWE will put her on a rocket-ship and keep her there. They already kinda forgot about Jade being a big deal. They have a pattern, and it always repeats.

Edited July 11 by Generations

[T-Hell]

9 hours ago, Generations said:

They already kinda forgot about Jade being a big deal.

Maybe because she isn't..

Anyways, I'll agree that the women's division still needs heavy work.

[PaperThinWalls]

She’s going to be featured more in NXT and have a lot more direction there than she would in AEW. Half the show is genuinely devoted to the women’s division.

[BestInTheWorld614]

12 hours ago, Generations said:

Let me rephrase.

"Most likely scenario that gives her the best result, based on what is likely to occur."

I simply have zero faith that WWE will put her on a rocket-ship and keep her there. They already kinda forgot about Jade being a big deal. They have a pattern, and it always repeats.

I just think they thought Jade was more ready than she actually is. They are eventually going to get to Jade vs Bianca.

[Generations]

9 hours ago, PaperThinWalls said:

She’s going to be featured more in NXT and have a lot more direction there than she would in AEW. Half the show is genuinely devoted to the women’s division.

Yeah...I disagree with that.

She literally had belts for both CMLL and NJPW at the same time. Could have won AEW and RoH titles as well. There is literally nothing in NXT that can compare to carrying belts for four different global brands simultaneously. It's a major downgrade. She will be paid well and her celebrity status will be higher in the US. That's about it.

"Featured better" is a really far stretch.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway...there seems to be a bit of a pattern with Latin performers in pro wrestling. Not sure why it's such a common thing, but...we saw it with Ivelisse, Alberto, Santana, Andrade, etc. And it just kinda feels like there is a trend with "going for the dangling carrot" so to speak. I do hope it works out for Vaquer. She is genuinely one of the best in the world. I just feel like I've seen this shit before...

Edited July 11 by Generations

[PaperThinWalls]

3 hours ago, Generations said:

She literally had belts for both CMLL and NJPW at the same time. Could have won AEW and RoH titles as well. There is literally nothing in NXT that can compare to carrying belts for four different global brands simultaneously. It's a major downgrade. She will be paid well and her celebrity status will be higher in the US. That's about it.

"Featured better" is a really far stretch.

Yeah. She’s going to be featured better. She’ll be given more TV time. She’ll be continually used. And she’ll be pushed with purpose. Way more women can say that in WWE than AEW.

[Generations]

13 hours ago, PaperThinWalls said:

Way more women can say that in WWE than AEW.

Bruh...

• Mariah May vs Toni Storm is about to be huge. Mina will likely be back too.
• Mercedes is already huge. - If Vaquer signed with AEW, that would have been her feud.
• Britt Baker is in line to have a great feud with Mercedes.
• Willow is a star. Statlander is right behind her. 
• Shida, Purazzo, Deeb are all very strong midcarders who get regular time.
• Thunder Rosa tends to be MIA, but I have a feeling that has more to do with her own stuff.

Literally who are we claiming that AEW is failing to give time? Sky Blue and Julia Hart both had huge pushes. I'm pretty sure Julia might be injured now and Sky Blue took time off to do some modeling. Other people like Anna Jay or Red Velvet basically get the time they deserve. They aren't really on the level of the other names. Yuka is injured, Riho is injured, Ruby is pregnant. So, again...who are we implying that AEW has dropped the ball on, or failed to push? It's such a bullshit narrative. I'm tired of hearing it.

Jamie Hayter should be back soon...and she will not be fumbled. They know she's a star. She'll probably return at Wembley and stake a claim for the championship. Kamille is signed, and will debut whenever. Everyone else is basically featured on RoH. And I know people tend to ignore RoH...but those names are still being booked. They have work. AEW is not letting anyone just sit around and do nothing. It's a completely fake narrative that needs to die.

On the other hand...WWE's women's division basically consists of Liv flirting with Dom, Zelina hitting people with a flip flop, and a bunch of random NXT call ups that are kinda semi-over and semi-overlooked. And they're truly lucky that Rhea is back...because, she was carrying that entire division before she left. 

WWE didn't value Nattie, and she left. Becky Lynch left for some reason, which we still haven't heard any elaboration on. So, again...I'm really not getting the agenda here. WWE does not have this amazing women's division that people always claim they do. Maybe NXT has some things brewing...but that's not here nor there...and most of those girls are not the stars that people make them out to be. We've already seen some failed call-ups on that side of things. - If we're going to ignore what happens in RoH, then we should ignore what happens in NXT too. Because, RoH has it's own stuff with Athena and Billie Starkz, Abadon, Shida, Queen Aminata, Nyla Rose, etc. 

I'm just really hard-pressed to point at specific talents in AEW and say "this girl is being fumbled."

It ain't a thing.

Edited July 12 by Generations

[glennsoe]

I see lots of positive words written here like great,huge and star...

Shame the default booker of the year doesn't share these thoughts and books them better...

 

[PaperThinWalls]

ROH and NXT aren’t comparable. NXT has a far bigger viewership than ROH. ROH is broadcasted on their own streaming service that no one but the most devoted ROH fans watch. NXT is broadcasted on USA (soon to be CW) where their viewership is virtually equal to Dynamite’s. In fact, their latest episode beat Dynamite’s demo. So if we were to compare NXT to any of Tony’s shows, the closest one would be Dynamite.

In other words, I reject that ROH is equal to NXT. ROH is an irrelevant online promotion that Tony sends some of his AEW castoffs to. Do you really think in terms of popularity and exposure, former WWE wrestlers like Athena, Taya Valkyrie, Marina Shafir, and Mercedes Martinez are better off wrestling on Honor Club (and the rare AEW show) than wrestling on NXT? ROH is the downgrade that you make NXT out to be.

As for the wrestlers who haven’t been casted off. You have the likes of Skye Blue, Purrazzo, Thunder Rosa, Anna Jay, Shida all currently floating around without much of a purpose, waiting to be put into an actual feud. The ones I consider being booked with purpose are: Mone, Statlander, Willow, Toni, Mariah May, Deeb, and the recently returned Baker.

For WWE/NXT, I can probably at least triple that number.

[Generations]

3 hours ago, PaperThinWalls said:

The ones I consider being booked with purpose are: Mone, Statlander, Willow, Toni, Mariah May, Deeb, and the recently returned Baker.

And who are the WWE talents that are comparable?...Because, like I said...I don't see it.

NXT is a hard sell to me. They have tons of female talents...but, there are like three that are worth anything. On NXT, I've seen good things out of Sol Ruca, Kelani Jordan, and Cora Jade. Everyone else is mid and "samey", IMO. - Even the three I mentioned are still growing. (I wouldn't compare them to any of those AEW names). 

On the main roster, again...it's Liv, Bayley, Rhea. Sometimes they try to do something with Zelina. - Damage CTRL are dead in the water. They stuck the tag belts on Fyre and Dawn, which is fine...but no one seemed to really care about that. - Bianca and Jade are finished with their tag team thing, and presumably might start a feud with each other. Either way...they're basically not doing anything either.

So, yeah...I don't see all this "booked with purpose" content on the WWE side of things. I really don't. There are a whole lot of talents just kinda floating. Some have belts, but they aren't really presented as "meaningful". Others are just there. It's a stacked roster. WWE has a ton of women. But is the division "good"? I would definitely not say that. I'd say it's pretty weak, actually.

Like...who are you genuinely excited to watch? For me, that's  a very small number of people. On AEW, I think those women are a bigger draw than the male storylines most of the time. - Dynamite closed with one of the hottest angles in AEW history, and it was Toni/Mariah May. That was a huge blowoff for a huge angle. That's basically the top angle in AEW right now. WWE isn't doing anything that comes close to that.

Edited July 12 by Generations

[Jeb ★]

 

[PaperThinWalls]

2 hours ago, Generations said:

Like...who are you genuinely excited to watch?

It doesn’t matter who I’m excited to watch. That’s not what this is about. This discussion is about how WWE books their women and how much they’re featured on their programming,

Rhea, Liv, Iyo (and Damage Ctrl), Maxxine, Sonya, Zoey, Shayna, Lyra, Nikki, Bayley, Bianca, Jade, Chelsea (and Piper), Nia, and Tiffany are all actively being featured and have established direction.

For NXT, there’s Roxanne, Kelani, Lola, Fallon, Sol, Arianna, Lash, Thea, and Karmen. They appear on these shows consistently and have direction.

Or you can simply check the cards of AEW and WWE and you can get somewhat of an idea on how both promotions book their women. 

[Generations]

30 minutes ago, PaperThinWalls said:

Or you can simply check the cards of AEW and WWE and you can get somewhat of an idea on how both promotions book their women. 

I have.

My conclusion is that AEW has more actual stars, who are featured as stars. And WWE has more people who they try to make stars, who aren't quite that. - The discussion was about claims that WWE "features women better". (And I don't think that's true if my perception is that AEW has bigger stars). - There have been a lot of women's matches on SD, and I turned the show off at five minutes past the hour, because I'm not interested in what they're doing.

Time on screen =/= featured better.

Half of them are just ditzy stereotypes or they show up in sidekick/friendship angles. 

If AEW has more women who present themselves as serious women's wrestlers, then my perception is always going to be that they are more legitimate as champions and challengers. And that is a direct result of being featured as such.

Edited July 13 by Generations

[PaperThinWalls]

1 hour ago, Generations said:

If AEW has more women who present themselves as serious women's wrestlers

Toni Storm is a friggin’ cartoon character. lmao Mercedes is as well with the way she acts. I don’t get what you’re going on about. The feud you claim you love revolves around a friendship. lol Statlander/Willow is also about a broken friendship.

You want this to be a subjective thing but it isn’t. The women in WWE get more far more exposure and have more women with direction. Period. Full stop. You can go on about what you subjectively like, but I’m not here for that. If you want my honest opinion, neither promotion’s creative for the women I find all that interesting. But who gives a shit? That’s not what I’m arguing about.