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WWE Rumors on Bray Wyatt Contract and RK-Bro; Kenny Omega Talks AEW Video Game
April 26, 2022
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.
Wyatt's Reported WWE Contract Before Release
Prior to his surprising release from WWE in July, Bray Wyatt was reportedly the beneficiary of a huge contract.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer on the Sunday Night's Main Event podcast (h/t WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan), Wyatt was making $4 million per year before getting released.
Meltzer noted that while "a couple of companies" have shown interest in Wyatt, his asking price is "too high," perhaps based on what he was making in WWE.
It was speculated by Meltzer that AEW is perhaps the only company besides WWE that can afford Wyatt presently, but it is possible nothing will ever get done between the two sides since Wyatt doesn't "fit perfectly" in AEW.
For the entirety of his WWE career, Wyatt was more about storyline and character development than putting on five-star matches whereas AEW is oftentimes most focused on the in-ring product.
While there is likely room for Wyatt in any wrestling company, it could come down to whether any promotion is willing to meet his monetary demands.
A return to WWE at some point in the future could be the best option for Wyatt since WWE has the money to sign him and seemingly gave him a good amount of creative freedom in the past.
Wyatt is perhaps the highest-profile free agent available in pro wrestling right now, and the former WWE and universal champion figures to make a sizable impact wherever he lands.
Reported Original Plans for RK-Bro
RK-Bro has been together as a tag team for about a year, but that reportedly wasn't always the plan.
According to Meltzer (h/t Michael Perry of Ringside News), WWE initially wanted to have RK-Bro together as a team for only three weeks before having Randy Orton turn on Riddle.
One can only assume the success of the team and the fan reaction led to WWE reversing course, which has ultimately been the right decision since RK-Bro is among the most over and popular acts in the company.
During the early days of RK-Bro, WWE teased a breakup often, and Orton even hit Riddle with an RKO on a couple of occasions, but they ultimately worked things out.
Now, Orton and Riddle have a fun and unique on-screen relationship that the fans have gotten behind, and Orton has essentially been transformed into a beloved babyface.
As is the case with almost every tag team in pro wrestling, an eventual breakup is inevitable. That is especially true for RK-Bro since Orton is an all-time great as a singles competitor and Riddle has world title potential on his own as well.
By giving RK-Bro such a long and successful run together, however, WWE is ensuring that the reaction will be even bigger if and when the turn eventually happens.
It seems likely that Orton will be the one to turn one day since he has spent much of his career as a heel, and if that happens, it will go a long way toward establishing Riddle as a top babyface on his own.
Omega Provides AEW Video Game Update
Former AEW world champion Kenny Omega has been out of action for several months due to injury, but he remains hard at work behind the scenes as a key player in the development of AEW's first video game.
During a recent appearance on YouTube's Put Your Quarters on the Glass (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Thirsty For News), Omega provided an update on the upcoming game:
"I mean, we're working real hard on trying to get something that is presentable, trying to get something that is gonna be complete ASAP and hopefully that means this year. Hopefully we're also gonna have more materials to show everyone real soon and I know that there should be something actually really soon being released. I'm not sure when this will release, but you may have already seen it by now and that's just a little, you know, taste for things to come. But there should be something more expansive, something a little more of an in-depth look, I would say, in the upcoming months. For sure just keep everyone up to speed, let everyone know where we're at."
Two weeks ago, Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Thirsty For News) reported that the video game was planned to be released "way sooner than expected" with a target date of some time in September.
The game, which has been in development for months, was recently revealed to have the title AEW: Fight Forever.
Early renders from the game are reminiscent of the hugely popular Nintendo 64 video games WWF No Mercy and WCW/nWo Revenge.
The characters have exaggerated features rather than looking true to life, much like was the case in those famous N64 titles.
Since WWE has the market cornered on pro wrestling video games and has for quite some time, AEW: Fight Forever will be a welcomed competitor and alternative for wrestling fans whenever it becomes available.
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