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#2 and #1 Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
It came as a surprise to many in the WWE Universe that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were released from WWE back in April with many other Superstars. As part of The O.C. alongside AJ Styles, Gallows and Anderson seemed to be set for bigger things. But that didn't come to pass.
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Before they re-signed with WWE back in 2019 for five years, there were rumors that they could be the pair to jump to AEW. This was, in part, due to the relationship with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega back in NJPW and The Bullet Club.
Did you know a top WWE Superstar just wrestled outside the company? More details HERE
In a discussion with Ryan Satin on the Talk ‘N Shop YouTube channel, the pair seemingly confirmed that they were bound to AEW before Triple H upped their contracts' value.
Anderson revealed that Matt Jackson discussed their storyline plan for him and Gallows back in June 2019, which would have taken place at the first episode of AEW Dynamite. He said: (H/T Pro Wrestling Sheet)
"Machine Gun music is gonna hit. I’m gonna come out. Gallows comes from behind. We walk to the ring. We too sweet The Young Bucks and Kenny. Turn around, everyone’s happy, and then we beat the f*ck out of them,” he said while detailing the pitch. “It’s one of the biggest regrets of my life that that didn’t f*cking happen. It kills me. Badly.”
Moreover, the contracts were for two years, and they were going to meet with Tony Khan. That meeting didn't happen as Triple H made them an offer they couldn't refuse and was large enough to set up their futures. They signed the contracts that night.
They told The Young Bucks that they re-signed and sufficed to say that there were some hard feelings. Anderson said:
"There were some hard feelings, I think. Because I think people trusted the Bucks and they told other parties that we were coming, and then we didn’t come and it made them look like they couldn’t close the deal.”
Gallows did say that they didn't take the AEW deal was simply a business decision. They knew that AEW would do well, but WWE's offer was just too good to pass up.
It now seems that the pair have signed with Impact Wrestling and can work in Japan once travel restrictions are lifted. Could they still come to AEW in the future? In professional wrestling, never say never.
