Back in February, Mark Davis of Aussie Open implied that the team were free agents. That’s not The case any longer. AEW signed them on May 24.
Three months later, when Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher vacated their tag titles at Resurgence, that the New Japan Pro Wrestling regulars were working without a contract in the company.
Fightful Select learned that WWE had interest in Aussie Open, who had retained a rep for negotiations. However, AEW had long been courting the duo, and announced the signing on the 24th. We’re told that WWE had not been informed of the deal being finalized, which was completed just hours before the announcement. Fletcher and Davis were courted for the NXT brand.
We’ve been told that several other members of the AEW tag team division have been proponents of bringing them in. WWE has been on a hiring freeze in 2023, but we’re told that they had some supporters in the company as well. Beyond that, we’re told that there have been short term plans for Aussie Open in AEW. even before Mark Davis’s injury, which is said to be a meniscus injury. During the process it was confirmed to Fightful by those close with Aussie Open that Tony Khan actually paid for Mark Davis’ surgery himself, even with the team not under contract.
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