AEW Newcomer Confirms Turning Down WWE Contract Offers

The newest member of the AEW roster has revealed that WWE offered them the chance to stay, but they rejected it.

Jake Doyle, Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Myron Reed, Zayda Steel, Mascara Dorada, Persephone, Alec Price and Jordan Oliver have all been announced as signing AEW deals in 2026, and Tony Khan has also managed to get Andrade El Idolo back on his TV show after an aborted attempt at his return in 2025.

Former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa made his AEW debut on the January 28th edition of Dynamite. Ciampa appeared to answer an open challenge from Mark Briscoe for the TNT Title, and that match took place three days later on Collision.

Tommaso Ciampa Turned Down WWE In Favour Of AEW

In his debut match in the company, Tommaso Ciampa captured the TNT Championship from Briscoe, leaving many fans in little doubt that he made the right decision in making the switch across wrestling’s great divide.

Speaking to SHAK Wrestling, Ciampa revealed that he had offers to stay put in WWE:

Yeah. Yeah, they did. We talked about it a few times over the last two to three months. […] I just needed to do what I felt was right for me and my wife.

Despite leaving the company, Ciampa noted he had nothing negative to say about his former wrestling home:

I don’t have a single bad word to say about WWE. They gave me an incredible opportunity and an incredible platform. Over the last ten years, I learned a lot and evolved a lot. Now it’s time for me to take everything I’ve learned and really apply it.