Why Baron Corbin Has Ruled Out AEW Switch
Baron Corbin is no longer part of WWE but that doesn’t mean he’s chomping at the bit to join AEW for a very good reason.
Baron Corbin left WWE at the end of 2024 when his contract expired. Corbin had been told weeks before that his deal was not being renewed at the same time that Indi Hartwell and Tegan Nox were let go by the company.
Using his real name of Tom Pestock, the former US Champion was back in action against Josh Barnett at a recent GCW show but it seems Baron Corbin has teased a whole new ring name for his wrestling future.
Baron Corbin Rules Out AEW
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Baron Corbin shed some more light on his wrestling future and explained why he doesn’t want to jump ship to AEW – at least for now:
I would love to go to New Japan for multiple reasons, and the door never closes with WWE either. And as far as AEW, their fans, they like that AEW in a sense is its own entity and built from the ground up. If I went there out of respect for that world, I wouldn’t want to be just another WWE guy that came there because they left WWE.
I would rather go and do New Japan for a year or more, who knows? Maybe that’s where I just love it and I stay there for the rest of my wrestling career. So if I ever did go that route, I would want to kind of clear that oh he’s just a WWE guy coming over.
Baron Corbin is dead as far as we know, we’re dropping a new name, new moniker, new character. I love wrestling. I love the creativeness of it. I love the freedom. I love performing in front of an audience and getting that live feedback in the moment. There’s nothing better.