WWE reportedly opened talks with prominent AEW star despite being under contract

WWE has reportedly been in contact with a notable AEW star about coming to the promotion, despite the said star being under contract.

Fightful Select has reported that a source close to AEW told of a talent who let management know that WWE had reached out to them about potentially joining the company.

Per the report, the talent made it clear they are happy with AEW and felt as though upper management should know. The talent was also said to have made it clear towards management that they had no desire of leaving the promotion.

Fightful later said in their report that upon further inspection, the claim is that a member of WWE's talent relations had contacted the talent. The source indicated that the call had been referred to the talent's representation as opposed to talks being held directly.

Nothing more has been said of the alleged contact; however, the claim is said to have been confirmed with the performer, who has put forward their preference to remain anonymous.

In concluding the report, it's alleged that sources close to the situation made it clear there were no mistakes over the talent's contract status with AEW.

It was earlier speculated that WWE would be interested in signing AEW's Konosuke Takeshita

Since Triple H returned to manage the hirings, firings, and creative direction of WWE, a litany of released stars have made their returns. The likes of Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, Dexter Lumis, and Hit Row (minus AEW's Swerve Strickland) have all recently appeared on WWE television.

WWE is expected to remain aggressive in its recruitment of top stars, and AEW/DDT star Konosuke Takeshita was brought up by Dave Meltzer as a potential hire for the promotion:

"It’s not like he’ll be here for a year and then they can never use him again. So the fact that they don’t have him under a five-year deal or anything like that shouldn’t be incumbent on (how they use him). I don’t know what his deal is with DDT. WWE, if he doesn’t have a full-time deal somewhere… WWE is looking for a big Japanese guy as we speak, and this guy’s got some size, and he’s young, and he’s got a good body, and he’s a fantastic wrestler. So somebody there may stumble upon him and be interested, because he’s exactly what they’re looking for." (H/T WrestleTalk)

The All Elite roster is comprised of many stars who have worked closely with Triple H during his time at the helm of NXT. Speculation therefore looms over certain talents within Tony Khan's promotion. For the time being at least, nobody appears set to make a switch.

What do you think? Would you like to see WWE continue to bring in talent? Let us know in the comments below.