AEW News & Rumor Roundup: Major star has joined Tony Khan's company full-time; Ex-WWE champion to MISS WrestleMania 41; Saraya's status revealed 

Welcome to the April 9 edition of AEW News and Rumor Roundup. In today's edition, we'll cover some trending topics, like which major star has signed full-time with All Elite Wrestling, why a former WWE champion will miss WrestleMania 41, Saraya's status after her AEW exit, and many more.

So, without further ado, let's begin:

---

#5. Mina Shirakawa has joined AEW full-time

Mina Shirakawa parted ways with STARDOM after the expiration of her contract last month. Her last match for the company was on April 6.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio, The Venus of Pro Wrestling is officially All Elite, as she has inked a full-time deal with the company. The Japanese star made her AEW debut in April 2024.

---

#4. Ric Flair will miss WrestleMania 41

John Cena will challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41. If he wins, The Franchise Player will break his and Ric Flair's record of 16 world title reigns.

Speaking on a recent edition of Busted Open Radio, The Nature Boy commented on the Cena-Rhodes match. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion added that he wouldn't be present at WrestleMania 41 to see if Big Match John broke his record because he was currently signed to All Elite Wrestling.

"I wish I could say that I was, but I'm not, and I understand why, and I'm not mad about it by any means. Every time they talk about the title, my name gets mentioned. They keep me relevant. It's very cool. John [Cena] is a great guy. Cody is a great guy. I work for another company. I'm sure I would be more than welcome. Absolutely, if I wasn't working with Tony, I would absolutely be there. They couldn't keep me out of the building," Flair said.

---

#3. Saraya hasn't spoken to WWE about a potential return

Saraya is no longer part of Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling. She left the company last month. Since her departure, fans have been speculating about the English pro wrestler's return to WWE.

However, in a recent interaction with WrestleZone, the former Paige revealed she hadn't been in contact with WWE for a potential return.

“People think I’m going back to WWE or whatever, because there’s this huge rumor mill happening right now. But I haven’t spoken to them. At least not right now. I haven’t spoken to them,” she revealed.

---

#2. Miro allegedly had major creative issues with AEW

Miro was absent from All Elite TV for a long time before Tony Khan decided to release him earlier this year. Fightful Select recently held a Q&A session, during which Sean Ross Sapp commented on the former Rusev's career in AEW.

He stated that the former AEW TNT Champion had major creative differences with the company, and this was why he was away from television for several months.

"Miro and AEW had heavy creative differences. The latter two were benched for an extended period of time," he said.

---

#1. Tony Khan almost fired Max Caster in the past

At Dynasty 2025 Zero Hour, Anthony Bowens returned to TV to answer his former tag team partner, Max Caster's, open challenge and squashed the latter in 40 seconds.

Later, Bowens appeared at the post-show Media Scrum, where he revealed he had saved Caster from being fined and getting fired many times in All Elite Wrestling.

"I think the truth is he wouldn't have the opportunity to be doing the things he's doing now without me, considering how many times I saved him from fines; how many times I saved his job because he couldn't keep his mouth shut with his s****y raps every week," he said.

Tony Khan, who was sitting beside The Five-Tool Player, agreed with the statement.

Anthony Bowens and Max Caster were part of a popular tag team called The Acclaimed in AEW. They parted ways in January 2025 after Caster became overly ambitious and arrogant.