WWE Legend's son claims he rejected AEW's offer - "It was the best decision I made"

AEW is home to many generational talents, from rising stars like Hook and Nick Wayne to established current and future Hall of Famers such as Billy Gunn, Jeff Jarrett, Saraya, and Dustin Rhodes, among others. Tony Khan had one legend and his son featured on AEW TV, but new details were just revealed on how things fell apart.

Brock Anderson is the son of Four Horseman Arn Anderson. The Charlotte native began training in 2021, two years after graduating from East Carolina University. Brock inked an AEW developmental deal in March 2021, and began training under Lodi, then QT Marshall and Glacier at The Nightmare Factory. He debuted on Dynamite in a segment that saw Arn and Cody Rhodes introduce Brock as the newest member of The Nightmare Family, then he teamed with Cody to beat QT and Aaron Solow.

The Enforcer's son left AEW in October 2023, not long after taking a brief hiatus to improve his physique. Speaking to fans during a K&S WrestleFest virtual signing with ECW Original CW Anderson, Brock recalled how AEW was the best place for him to be during the pandemic as the indie scene was dead.

He noted how younger talents would work out in the ring at Daily's Place and Universal Studios, to receive advice from veterans, and there was speculation on a new All Elite training center, which would have prepared them for post-pandemic touring, but the school never happened. He noted how it was hard to improve in the ring with the short AEW Dark matches:

"It’s too short of a time, you don’t learn how to wrestle. So, after about a year and a half, it’s great, I love everybody there, I appreciate the opportunity they gave me, Tony [Khan] and everybody. Where I was, I needed to be somewhere I could actually get repetitions and learn the business. So, they sent me another... they wanted to redo the current deal I was on," Brock Anderson said. [H/T to POST Wrestling]

Brock Anderson continued:

"It was not enough so I was like, ‘Maybe we just don’t do this and just go our separate ways,’ and I think it was the best decision I made, because if I just stay there and work the 5-6 times a year that I was guaranteed, I would never have the mentor sitting to my left [CW], and all the knowledge I’ve soaked up in that short amount of time," Brock Anderson said.

The Andersons previously held the AML Tag Team Championship for just over seven months but dropped the straps back to The Dawsons in early December. They will challenge for the titles again in a Fatal 4 Way at AML's Ace of War Games event on Saturday in Winston-Salem, NC. The other two teams are Billy Gunn and George South, plus AJ Francis and Bojack.

---

Updated lineup for AEW Homecoming

AEW is set to return to its home base of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, FL tomorrow night for the fourth Homecoming special since January 2020. Below is the updated Collision lineup:

• Mariah May and Toni Storm will face off ahead of Grand Slam
• Brody King and Buddy Matthews vs. Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun
• Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong vs. Daniel Garcia, Daddy Magic, and Cool Hand Ang
• International Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Saturday's show will serve as the inaugural Collision Homecoming episode. The show will air live at 8 pm ET via TNT and Max.