AEW Eyes Released WWE Stars; Drew McIntyre Talks Roman Reigns; Seth Rollins Praised

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW. 

Tony Khan Admits He's Interested in Recent WWE Cuts

Any time someone departs WWE—whether via their own volition or a roster cut—there's an automatic assumption that AEW will be somewhere lurking. Tony Khan's company has found massive success hiring underutilized former WWE talents like Miro, PAC and Malakai Black and turning them into stars, while names like Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley exited the top of the WWE card to join AEW.

With WWE jettisoning another round of talent last week, Khan spoke to PWTorch and admitted a few names caught his eye. 

“I do see a few in this wave. I don’t want to say who, or when I would be interested in them, but I think there’s a few very interested people they’ve just let go,” Khan said. “The same goes in the last wave, and the wave before that, and the wave before that. So, each time they let, let’s say 20 people go, I think there’s a few interesting ones for AEW and this was no exception to that.”

Let's just admit the obvious: Keith Lee and Ember Moon need to be in AEW the second their 90-day non-compete expires. Lee fills AEW's biggest hole on the roster—a believable, seasoned dominant big man—and has a high enough work rate that he can fit in easily with the company's product. Moon was a massive missed opportunity for WWE on the main roster, and she would arguably be the most talented in-ring worker in the AEW women's division from the moment she signed.

None of the other names are obvious can't-miss signings. Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux feel like they would be more at home back in Impact; Eva Marie isn't the type of name AEW typically pursues. Franky Monet and Mia Yim could help fill out the women's division a little bit, and Harry Smith's link to the Hart family might interest Khan, but those acts would be for Dark and the lower midcard.

Lee and Moon are potential franchise players.

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Drew McIntyre Says Reigns Match Can Wait

When Drew McIntyre was drafted the SmackDown, the automatic assumption is that he would be lined up as the next feud for Roman Reigns.

That hasn't happened.

McIntyre has been doing weekly open challenges and putting on banger matches while Reigns remains preoccupied with a (kayfabe) suspended Brock Lesnar.  The Scottish Warrior recently spoke to Sky Sports and said he's fine waiting for his Universal title shot. 

"Everyone keeps saying to me, ‘It’s Drew and Roman, that is obviously what will happen.' I am sure it is inevitably going to happen, but I have no desire for it to happen right now," McIntyre said. "He has got all this momentum and I am a very patient man. I have been in the wrestling game for over 20 years now. I want to keep building up victories.

"I want to keep building up momentum. He is aware of what I am capable of these days, and I want him to have to watch me build up momentum and when the time is right we come together. It will definitely be a huge match for us as Superstars but especially for the fans. Not until the time is right, though.”

In terms of a booking decision, this is the right move. McIntyre spent months losing to Bobby Lashley and then in a listless feud with Jinder Mahal late in his run on the Raw roster. While it didn't completely kill his momentum, he didn't come to Raw riding high. A bit of McIntyre fatigue was setting in, and allowing him to just go out there and put on a bunch of great matches is a tried-and-true way of building him back up.

McIntyre probably isn't going to be the one to unseat Roman from his perch atop SmackDown, so he needs this time of rebuilding so losing that feud in the future won't hurt him too much. 

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Rollins Praised for Professionalism 

Seth Rollins may be an irritant in character, but outside the ring, he's apparently a joy to work with.

Lance Storm, who worked with WWE as a backstage producer from 2019 to 2020, highlighted Rolllins' professionalism on his podcast with the Wrestling Observer.

"I can’t say enough good things about Seth Rollins," Storm said. "I produced a lot of segments with Seth Rollins. A lot of times with Seth, it was me and Michael Hayes. It was at the time where Seth Rollins was a big frickin' part of the show. You get the Seth Rollins segment, and it’s like, OK, he has two backstage segments, he has an in-ring promo, then he has a promo before his match. The dude has like eight segments. He’s running full tilt all day and very easy to work with."

Storm said that Rollins is good at taking direction despite being a top-of-the-card star and being able to multitask doing several segments on the same show. 

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