AEW’s top signings from WWE are earning “way more” than they would have made had they stayed working for Vince McMahon.
During the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed AEW’s salary scale, saying that the company is willing to make huge offers in order to compete with WWE.
One name Meltzer pointed out was Adam Cole, and said the former NXT Champion is earning way more with AEW than if he’d stayed with WWE last September.
This high-salary scale has led to some “good talents” in WWE being interested in signing with AEW once their current contracts expire.
Bryan Danielson, one of the company’s biggest ever signings, had to get a competitive deal from AEW, as the former World Champion “isn’t working anywhere for less than several million a year.”
Speaking about the company’s budget, Meltzer said that AEW is looking to their next TV rights deal to bring in more revenue, as some names are still unavailable to the company:
“I can tell you they [AEW] absolutely, 100% have a budget. And I also know that there were these two people who tried to get an offer and were kind of told — they were not really given a huge offer. And I think the basic gist of what I heard, if and when this next television deal comes in, which would start in 2024, and they can get a big increase, then they’ll spend to get guys.”
Following the departure of Cody and Brandi Rhodes, it has been rumored that the couple left AEW after being unable to secure new big-money contracts with the company.
