AEW head honcho Tony Khan is reportedly disinterested in utilizing 32-year-old New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) athlete David Finlay due to rumors suggesting that Finlay may be WWE-bound. The star in question competed for the Jacksonville-based promotion earlier this year, in January.
Recent observations highlight a pattern where All Elite Wrestling’s Creative Head, Tony Khan, tends to avoid prominently and regularly featuring talent who are expected to leave AEW to join their competition. This approach has been evident with wrestlers such as Miro, Blake Monroe, and Ricky Starks, who have not appeared on AEW programming for extended periods, presumably due to rumors of their departures. Similar speculation surrounds Chris Jericho and Private Party, according to recent rumors.
According to Dave Meltzer’s commentary on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, the same reasoning might apply to NJPW star David Finlay. Meltzer suggested that the Bullet Club War Dogs leader has not been showcased as frequently on AEW television compared to his teammates—such as Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, and Robbie X—because of the possibility that Finlay could sign with the Stamford-based WWE promotion.
“Maybe there’s the feeling that David is going to end up in WWE and Tony doesn’t want to use him,” Meltzer stated.
Meltzer further emphasized that Tony Khan has little interest in featuring performers who are projected to be headed to WWE, especially if those talents are not directly under his employ.
“Tony Khan doesn’t want to use people who are going to go to WWE even though it’s inevitable that a lot of the guys he’s using will end up in WWE just because of how wrestling works. But if you’re pretty sure they’re gonna go, then why use them?” Meltzer added.
David Finlay wrestled under the AEW banner earlier this year at the AEW x NJPW x CMLL Wrestle Dynasty event in January, where he defeated Brody King in singles competition. He also faced current AEW Men’s World Champion Hangman Page in a one-on-one match in June 2022, though he was unsuccessful in that bid.
—
### AEW Dynamite Announcements for November 5
The upcoming November 5 edition of Wednesday Night Dynamite will air live from the Bayou Music Center in Houston, Texas. So far, only two matches have been announced for the show:
– A trios bout featuring The Opps versus Hangman Page, Eddie Kingston, and Hook.
– A quarterfinal matchup from the ongoing AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship Tournament, pitting Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron against Athena and Mercedes Mone.
It remains to be seen what Tony Khan and his creative team have planned for viewers this Wednesday. Stay tuned for more updates as the show approaches.
—
*H/T Ringside News*
https://www.sportskeeda.com/aew/rumor-tony-khan-allegedly-stopped-using-32-year-old-aew-likely-join-wwe-reports
Be First to Comment