WWE Rumors: WWE paid huge money to keep an undercard talent...possibly from AEW

What's the story?

During his interview on Busted Open Radio, Jim Ross said that he heard that WWE re-signed an undercard WWE talent for $500,000 dollars to stay with the company.

In case you didn't know...

Jim Ross was the voice of WWE Monday Night RAW for several years. He was also the head of talent relations with WWE. Recently, he signed with AEW to provide color commentary and also serve as a senior advisor to AEW management and creative.

Ever since their announcement, AEW has been making waves in the professional wrestling industry. They have the backing of Tony Khan and Shahid Khan as well as a rumored AEW TV deal that has been in the works for a while.

The AEW roster also has the likes of Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Lucha Bros, Chris Jericho, Hangman Page, Pac, Britt Baker and so many others that are varied in wrestling technique and ability. This leads to other questions about who AEW will sign next and whether WWE is actually concerned about that issue.

The heart of the matter

As stated earlier, Jim Ross was on Busted Open Radio to discuss a variety of issues including AEW. He also mentioned Vince McMahon was supportive of his decision to go to AEW and that he still has a lot to offer.

The discussion then turned to whether WWE is actually concerned by the financial clout of AEW. Jim Ross replied that it doesn't think so but signing talent was a different matter. He elaborated,

During a meeting, I asked about one guy in WWE..who's an undercard guy, been there a while, solid hand, could help the younger guys because he's at that age...you know...early 30s...and they said...he's not available...he just signed for half-a-million dollars with WWE...he's not even on television...500K Bubba...just to keep him off the streets..so to speak.

So yeah, I would think there's a reactionary phase of this deal..and hey...these guys got some cash..and they're willing to pay people.

What's next?

It's interesting to note WWE is willing to pay people just to stay with WWE. It was rumored that The Usos used AEW as leverage to get better WWE contracts. What's fascinating is the speculation who this undercard talent was, who's not even being used on WWE TV. But for now, wrestling fans will have AEW Double or Nothing to look forward to, which Jim Ross will most likely to be a part of.