A thing wrestling fans are not used to for the longest time is wrestlers jumping between promotions. The jump between promotions was a practice that was very common in wrestling for a long time, and with the Attitude Era as the best example of it. With the rise of AEW, this practice is returning and for the better of wrestlers and even promotions themselves.
The wrestling business needed for a long time an alternative or competitor to WWE. Not only for the enjoyment of fans but for wrestlers and the money they can make for themselves and families. TNA/IMPACT failed to become an alternative for the wrestling business for multiple reasons that deserves its own piece on it.
Wrestlers moving from one promotion to the other and looking for the best deal for them is something the wrestling business needed for a long time, and with the death of WCW this practice was gone for a long time until AEW. Promotions losing and gaining talent is also very helpful, as it helps spice to things and prevent for programs to get stale.
The jumo of wrestlers between promotions, will also force bookers (of both sides) to start pushing young talents more often to secure them for a long time and build their futures. AEW in particular has done a good job building young talent and WWE is in need of younger wrestler for their roster, this gives wrestlers the power when it comes to negotiation time.
We are finally starting to see wrestlers jumping between promotions in the US. Something that has made the subject more interesting with the fact wrestlers now want to be with their partners in the same promotion and spent as much time together, this has become key for wrestlers when it comes to signing. Money will always be a key to any deal.
For promotions having deep and rotating roster helps to their programming. The best example is Cody Rhodes’ return to WWE. WWE and Cody gained a lot from this change as its well-known WWE needs more main eventers and adding a wrestler like Cody, and for Cody, a new environment was what he needed after his weird last months with AEW.
Cody Rhodes was the truly first main eventer from AEW to land in WWE. WWE could use more main eventers and AEW has a lot of wrestlers WWE could use. For AEW, signing a star for the women’s division is what they are missing, someone like Sasha Banks would be the perfect signing but very unlikely too. The next main eventer to jump promotion will be interesting.
Jumps between promotions will become more of a common practice the more AEW grows in terms of notoriety and in terms of their next TV deal, which will be key for AEW and Tony Khan while making the roster for AEW. For WWE, is pretty much the same but with them most likely getting a better deal than AEW.
Contract tampering is also something both sides, but especially WWE need to be careful. WWE has been in trouble with this before, with the best example being the case of Adam Cole and ROH from a few years ago. AEW on this department have been careful so far and should stay that way.
