WWE Star Turned Down Contract Offer From AEW
AEW wanted a popular AEW star.
It was recently announced that Bea Priestley had signed with STARDOM ahead of her return to the ring on September 6. Priestley had been a free agent since being released by WWE back in February.
But before she made it to WWE, Priestley had a relatively brief stint with AEW that came to an end through no fault of her own.
During an appearance on That Sweet Pop with Dion McCracken & Brad Lewis, Priestley looked back on how she came to work for AEW in 2019. While discussing her initial dealings with the company, she revealed that WWE star Piper Niven was also offered a deal alongside herself and Kip Sabian.
However, Niven had already signed with WWE to become part of NXT UK, so she had to decline.
“I got picked up with AEW because there was a British tour over Christmas in 2018. I think it was called Fight Forever. I don’t think the company exists anymore. They had me on it, Piper [Niven] was on it, and Cody and Brandi were on it. So was Kip Sabian.
Basically, I had a match with Brandi, and Cody loved it. Brandi was really happy. Piper, the same thing, had a match with Brandi, and they were really happy. They basically offer me, Kip, and Piper a contract. Piper had already signed with NXT UK. She couldn’t do it, but Kip was like, ‘Yes, I want to move to America.’ I was like, ‘I still want to do Japan.’
[AEW] hadn’t started at that point, and I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t want to jump, no pun intended, all in, to something where I’m not technically sure what I’m getting into. They were like, ‘Do you want a part-time deal? You can still work full-time STARDOM.’ I was like, ‘Perfect.’
Priestley explained that she initially worked on a per-appearance deal until Kenny Omega and Christopher Daniels urged her to sign full-time. Despite the offer, the English star remained determined to stay loyal to STARDOM. Again, it was Omega who went to work.
“It was per match appearance until Kenny (Omega), who has always been a good mentor for me. I think he’s always liked how dedicated I am to Japan and that I mix the Joshi and Western style a little bit. Kenny sat me down. Christopher Daniels tried to talk to me about signing full-time with AEW.
This was September-October 2019, and I explained, ‘I don’t mean any disrespect.’ I was champion in STARDOM at the time as well. ‘I want to dedicate a lot of my time in STARDOM. I don’t want to up and go because you guys are after me and offered me a contract.’ [Daniels] was like, ‘Okay.’
A week later, Kenny talked to me and was like, ‘You can still work full-time STARDOM. We also want you full-time here. We’re not going to (conflict with) STARDOM dates, STARDOM can come first. We just want to have you when it fits your STARDOM schedule.’
Essentially, what I was already doing, but getting paid on a contract basis and not a per match one, which was great because COVID happened and I was still getting income for a few months.”
Bea Priestley Became A WWE Superstar
Bea Priestley eventually left AEW in August 2020 due to being unable to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She continued to wrestle in Japan before signing with WWE in June 2021.
Meanwhile, fellow former WWE Superstar Isla Dawn has finally made her AEW debut. The Scottish star made a surprise appearance on Collision in Glasgow, where he challenged Megan Bayne, although she was ultimately defeated.
Kip Sabian remains with AEW and was most recently in action at Forbidden Door, where he teamed with Killswitch in defeat to Adam Copeland and Christian Cage.
Brandi Rodes is currently not directly involved with the wrestling business since Cody returned to WWE. Meanwhile, Piper Niven has become an important part of the women’s division on SmackDown.
H/t to Fightful