WWE Hall of Famer and fan-favorite star reportedly backstage at this week's AEW Dynamite; blockbuster signing on the cards?

AEW presented its first Dynamite of 2025 last night and it was a special 'Fight for the Fallen' edition. According to recent reports, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix and former ring announcer Samantha Irvin were backstage at the show.

Last year, Samantha Irvin left WWE to pursue other projects. The departure came shortly after Ricochet left the Triple H-led promotion to sign with AEW in 2024. Similar to this, Adam Copeland (FKA Edge) joined All Elite Wrestling after leaving WWE in 2023. His wife and Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix's contract with the promotion expired in 2024 which makes her a free agent.

According to a recent report by PWInsider, Beth Phoenix and Samantha Irvin were backstage at Fight for the Fallen edition of Dynamite. Ricochet and Adam Copeland competed at the show which could be the reason for their presence backstage in the Jacksonville-based promotion.

Ricochet on Samantha Irvin possibly joining AEW

Samantha Irvin quickly became a popular ring announcer during her time with WWE. However, she shocked the wrestling world after announcing her departure from the promotion last year. Samantha is focused on moving on from professional wrestling and her fiance Ricochet was recently asked whether an AEW move for her is possible.

In a recent chat with The Wrestling Classic, Ricochet revealed that Samantha doesn't want to continue as a ring announcer as he doesn't want that either. However, The One and Only did say that Irvin would like to be an on-screen character and get reactions from the fans:

"Probably not. I would say no... I wouldn't even want her to do that. I think she just doesn't want to be a ring announcer at all. Any type of announcing, whether it's boxing, UFC, NFL, or baseball, she doesn't want to announce the people's names, she doesn't... 'And here from Lexington, Kentucky!' She doesn't want to do that specific act... she still would love to be a character, be in a story, she would love to be... you know, make the fans feel emotions, and make them go through the roller-coaster of emotions that she would like," Ricochet said.

The fans will have to wait and see if Samantha Irvin joins Ricochet and signs with All Elite Wrestling in 2025.