AEW has reportedly passed on the chance to sign a lot of wrestlers recently, including Buddy Murphy who was released by WWE earlier this year.
As more and more wrestlers join the revolution in AEW, more and more fans accuse the company of picking up all of WWE's cast-offs. The likes of Andrade, Malakai Black, and Ruby Soho have all been released by WWE this year and gone to sign with AEW. However, according to Wrestling Observer Radio, AEW has actually passed up on the chance to sign quite a few other stars.
Buddy Murphy Is Not All Elite
The only person mentioned by name, which might be because it is the most notable, is Buddy Murphy. Murphy was part of the group released by WWE at the beginning of June which means his non-compete is over and he is able to work elsewhere. The former Cruiserweight Champion actually has wrestled a few indie dates already but is yet to sign a permanent deal with another company.
If Murphy is going to commit his future elsewhere, it seems that it won't be AEW for the time being. Impact Wrestling seems to be the most likely landing spot for the Australian star. There have been rumors over the summer that Murphy would eventually show up in Impact, and the company's EVP even teased that they had signed him along with Braun Strowman.
Murphy And Strowman To Impact?
Neither Murphy nor Strowman has shown up on Impact yet despite both making starts to life outside of WWE. Should either of them make Impact their home, it could result in a few appearances in AEW. Despite the lack of crossover recently, the two are still in business together as AEW's Christian Cage is still Impact World Champion.
AEW passing on Murphy might surprise a few fans. He showed a lot of promise in WWE when given the chance, wrestling great matches against the likes of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. It can't take everybody though, as much as Tony Khan might want to. After debuting CM Punk, Adam Cole, Soho, and Bryan Danielson in a very short space of time, it's probably for the best if AEW eases off on signings and surprises for a little while.