NWA star Nick Aldis said AEW offered him a great contract to join the company but that he couldn’t say yes for one very good reason.
Not ready to abandon all the work he put in over the past two years in NWA, when AEW said no to Aldis working with both AEW and NWA at the same time, the decision not to jump ship from NWA became an easy one.
Currently the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, Aldis spoke with Daily DDT about receiving an offer from AEW, but as attractive as it was, electing to turn it down. Aldis said he was certainly interested in joint Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks in doing what they were doing with AEW but submitted a counter that he thought might work well for both sides.
Aldis confirmed he was made an offer but said, "I counter-offered with, 'I'd like to be able to do both.' I'd like to work with them because obviously, I have great admiration for Cody and the Bucks for what they've been able to do." He explained this was the only way he thought he could join the new wrestling promotion because he wasn't prepared to bail on the NWA. When they said no, he added, "And that was that. I left it open with, 'If you can find a way to keep doing this and do your show, I'll do your show.'
What This Means
AEW and WWE are not all that different in some respects. Both companies seem to want their stars to commit to being part of the brand and while wrestlers like Jon Moxley are currently wrestling for G1, come October, he’ll be exclusive with AEW. Aldis wasn’t ready to go there.
This also means fans aren’t likely to see Aldis in WWE anytime soon. At least, not until he’s prepared to leave NWA for good.