Backstage News On If AEW Has Interest In Signing Dean Ambrose, Could Ambrose’s WWE Departure Be A Work?

The pro wrestling world has been buzzing since the news broke that Dean Ambrose will not be renewing his WWE contract when it expires in April, and instead will be leaving the company.

In a rather unprecedented move by WWE, the company issued a detailed statement confirming Dean Ambrose’s future, and ditched its usual “future endeavors” line in favor of saying “we wish him well and hope that one day Dean will return to WWE.”

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, given WWE’s rather untraditional public handling of the Dean Ambrose situation, there are some people in WWE who believe the entire Ambrose story is a work, and he is not actually leaving the company. While it is entirely possible the situation could indeed be a work, all signs currently point to Ambrose leaving the company when his contract expires. Additionally, Meltzer noted that many of Ambrose’s WWE colleagues were very surprised to see him turn down such an incredibly lucrative, longterm offer made by WWE to re-sign.

Of course news of Dean Ambrose leaving WWE sparked immediate speculation that he might be bound for All Elite Wrestling, and Dave Meltzer pointed out that Ambrose is in fact close friends with both Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes.

“With AEW it’s like there’s another place to go to make really good money if they want you”, Meltzer noted. “In the case of Dean [Ambrose], if he’s a free agent in April, will they want him? The answer is yes.”

Amidst the above, Chris Jericho recently turned heads when he Tweeted, then deleted, what appeared to be a shot at WWE talents, telling them “just know that [AEW is] interested in maybe 6-8 of your talents total. We don’t need you!”

As we originally reported, Dean Ambrose’s issues with WWE are rooted in creative, and not money, which is why he was willing to reject such a huge offer from WWE. With that in mind, AEW could solidify itself as a tangible and viable alternative to WWE, with top names being able to make great money in addition to being able to collaborate more easily on creative direction.