‘Not Really Thrilled’ – AEW Backstage Reaction To Sheamus Potentially Signing After WWE Departure

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Some details have emerged on the backstage reaction in AEW to Sheamus potentially joining the promotion after his WWE depature.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that Sheamus has exited WWE upon the expiration of his contract, ending a 19 year tenure with the company.

Naturally, there’s been a lot of speculation since then that he could head to AEW, and while there’s plenty of excitement from fans about potential dream matches and scenarios, that excitement isn’t shared by everyone in AEW.

On Wrestling Observer Live today, Bryan Alvarez reported that he’d spoken to a lot of AEW personnel who were questioning the idea of Sheamus coming in and taking another spot.

He explained that while nobody had anything against Sheamus personally and he’s well-liked, the idea of a 48 year old former WWE star coming in and taking another spot on the card was something people “weren’t really thrilled” about.

He said:

“I did talk to a lot of people today in AEW who were like, ‘Are we really gonna take this guy?’

“And let me make this abundantly clear – everybody I talked to, to a person, was like, ‘I really like Sheamus. I really like him.’

“But the basic gist of it is, ‘There are so many people under contract, and there are so many people that already can’t even get on TV, and we’re gonna hire another 48 year old?’

“Everyone’s got ideas like Sheamus & Cesaro, being in the Death Riders, which would be great. Nobody had anything against Sheamus personally.

“It was just sort of like, ‘Here comes another one.’ Because the New Day’s probably coming in, Sheamus would be coming in. And that’s three more slots that people who have been there for a long time or who should be on the way up, they’re gonna be iced out again. People weren’t really thrilled about that idea.”

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Which Former WWE Stars Should AEW Sign?

Coming up soon, there’ll be an abundance of former WWE talents available for AEW to sign after the annual mass releases.

With question marks over AEW bringing in so many ex-WWE stars, who are the ones that the company should prioritize hiring?

The aforementioned New Day and Sheamus should be at the top of that list for their recognizability and star power, as well as being great additions for the in-ring product.

While AEW shouldn’t re-run the whole Wyatt Sicks, there’s definitely something that could be done with Bo Dallas and/or Erick Rowan, especially with Rowan’s ties to Brodie Lee which led to him making a few AEW appearances in the past.

The Motor City Machine Guns were targeted by AEW a couple of years ago before they ended up with WWE instead, and they’d be a welcome addition to the tag team scene, as would Zoey Stark and Alba Fyre (Kay Lee Ray) to further boost the always growing and improving women’s division.

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