4 reasons why Tony Khan should not sign recently released WWE stars

Tony Khan has signed a lot of ex-WWE stars in the past and has turned them into main event attractions under his creative leadership. In the past 24 hours, the Stamford-based company has released a lot of stars like Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, The Motor City Machine Guns, Alba Fyre, Nikki Cross, and the rest of The Wyatt Sicks.

The releases come just a week after this year’s WrestleMania 42, which took place in Las Vegas. AEW did a great job at garnering global attention during WrestleMania week. The Jacksonville-based company presented its annual Dynasty pay-per-view just a week before ‘Mania, which received global praise.

The main event of the show featured an iconic match between MJF and Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship. On the following episode of Dynamite, Darby Allin shocked the world by winning the AEW World Title, squashing The Salt of the Earth.

With Double or Nothing 2026 only a few weeks away, here are four reasons why Tony Khan shouldn’t sign recently released WWE talents:

#4. Already stacked roster

The current AEW roster is already stacked across all the divisions. The World Title picture has been unpredictable ever since MJF won the title in December last year. Stars like Bandido, “Hangman” Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Brody King, and Tommaso Ciampa have challenged for the title in recent months. The women’s division is also filled with a lot of fresh talents.

If Tony Khan decides to sign more stars to the company who were recently released from WWE, it will just make the roster bigger. This wouldn’t be in the best interest of the All Elite Wrestling President, as it would be a very hard task to manage a big roster that has a lot of talented stars.

AEW should focus more on its hometown stars instead of signing more ex-WWE stars.

#3. Less screen time for many stars

AEW’s weekly programming includes two shows: Dynamite, which airs on Wednesday, and Collision, which usually airs on Saturday. Both shows have a two-hour runtime and feature elite in-ring action. However, it is still hard for AEW President Tony Khan to book many major stars regularly and give them enough screen time.

If Tony Khan signs more talents to the company just a few weeks ahead of Double or Nothing, it will only make things harder for him. He will also have to allot screen time to the newly signed wrestlers. For this, he will have to reduce the screen time allotted to the stars who have already been in AEW for some time.

Such a situation would create a lot of problems for the AEW President, which is why he should refrain from signing the recently released WWE stars.

#2. Shake up plans for All In London 2026

Tony Khan has proved in the past few years that he can do long-term booking well. All Elite Wrestling’s President makes the major booking decisions for his product in advance. All In 2026 is set to take place in London this year in August, and the buildup to the show has already started in many ways.

All In is the company’s biggest show of the year and usually features a stacked card. Last year’s show featured Hangman Page ending Jon Moxley’s reign of terror as AEW World Champion.

If AEW signs the recently released WWE talents, it will obviously have to book them for its upcoming shows. Whenever a new talent signs with a company, there is always hype regarding their debut or return. The company also has to book them more.

If Tony Khan hires more talents from WWE, he will have to book those stars in some way for All In, which will obviously shake up the current plans for the show.

#1. Loyalty issues

Loyalty is one of the biggest aspects of the pro wrestling world. Many stars spend their whole career working for the same company, while some continue to jump from one promotion to another.

Big promotions like WWE and AEW tend to build their rosters around stars who stay loyal to the company despite their issues with the booking. If Tony Khan signs the newly released WWE talents, it might raise some concerns among AEW stars.

Most of the stars who were released from the Stamford-based company in the last 24 hours were actually featured on the company’s programming in recent weeks. The list also includes stars like Aleister Black, who have previously worked in AEW.

There will be a lot of loyalty issues while signing the abovementioned stars, as they were working for the sports entertainment juggernaut not too long ago. If the company signs them and starts booking them regularly, it could also raise tensions among existing stars in AEW who have been loyal to the promotion for a long time.