Are Both Pete Dunne & Ryback AEW-Bound?

AEW has acquired some serious talent in recent months and to be honest, they already had an impeccable roster to begin with, but with more and more contract expirations and releases from other companies, particularly WWE, how many more wrestlers are bound to come through the door over at AEW?

Ryback’s hungry and is ready for action

The man who made the quote “Feed Me More!” famous, is apparently ready to return to action after quite the break from the ring, according to a report over at wrestlingnews.co, and it won’t be to WWE, from what they say.

Ryback was released from WWE in 2016 and wrestled at a few independent shows in the following years. He has been very outspoken about WWE’s treatment of him and how they handled his release.

He has chronicled his injury, stem cell procedures, recovery and a plethora of other things on his YouTube Channel, Ryback TV, in which other than working out, you can also see him perform his other favorite pastime: eating. “The Big Guy” can surely put it away and he does so, challenging himself to pizza munching feasts and even chicken nugget feasts that would make even Godzilla scratch his head in doubt.

It’s a good time, but also on the channel are insights into what I mentioned above and just how he feels about his former employers over at WWE.

He has also expressed interest in AEW on his podcast, stating:

“Kenny Omega and me, I think, would have great chemistry together. Cody is on top of his game right now. I think there’s big money in that being visited down the line. Obviously Jericho. He’s my favorite top guy I worked with…”

via: Ryback TV

Recent tweets certainly suggest a possible appearance and subsequent run in the company by this man who let’s face it, was a tremendous performer over at WWE, who worked hard and doesn’t really get his due.

The only problem with this scenario is of course the fact that Mark Henry, who is well-ensconced over at AEW (and deservedly so) has major issue with Ryback.

In controversial statements made by Ryback in January of 2021, Ryback answered a WWE/Fox Tweet and responded by stating that championships in pro wrestling were mere props (paraphrasing), Henry has stated of Ryback in the past on Busted Open:

“A lot of his peers look at him as difficult…A lot of his peers looked at him as dangerous. And yes, we talk about it on this show all the time. That [WWE] is a show, its sports-entertainment. It is a reflection of sports. He don’t use the term ‘fake,’ the championship is the championship. It’s not a prop, and he’s wrong. I’ve been a World Champion in three sports. And I consider pro wrestling one of those, but it was the politics that got me to the top. It was the fact that I’m a damn good entertainer because entertainment is in the name of the job description…”

via: Busted Open /Mark Henry

Ryback responded, saying:

“I have nothing but love for the wrestling business. I made the decision at 22 years old to drop out of college to pursue my dream, which I was with WWE for many years before I walked away at 34 years old to save my health. It would be very easy to get upset at Mark’s comments and engage in back and forth bickering, but the moment I do that this turns into something I’ve said I would never do and that is make it against me and WWE wrestlers. My issues are with the organization and Mark most likely unaware of. The tweet Mark is referring to was a sarcastic tweet to Fox not knowing wrestling was entertainment and yes the word fake was used…Could it have been worded different, absolutely, but in 2021 where every podcast exposes the business just talking about it, including the show Mark is a part of…”

via: Ryback /Social Media

If Ryback does make it to AEW, and if these differences can be put aside, I can certainly see him battling the likes of Miro, quite obviously, Powerhouse Hobbs and Brian Cage, but only time will tell, dear readers.

Pete Dunne has an AEW dream opponent, but what could that mean for his own future?

With Adam Cole premiering on AEW programming at All Out last week and just this past Wednesday on Dynamite, we can definitely say that the King of NXT made his way over to the competition.

But what of the other talented roster members that he himself inspired in his run there? So many were released in recent months and there are those that are at the end of their contracts as well.

Enter Pete Dunne.

His contract is reportedly up, or rather, has been, and he may well re-sign with NXT for another haul, but you wouldn’t think so after some recent statements he’s made on social media.

According to Wrestling Inc, he was offered a deal by WWE, but no word yet on if it was agreed to by Dunne. He stated on Twitter, apparently specifically speaking of Bryan Danielson:

“I sincerely hope it’s a possibility one day. First up- (Samoa Joe)… ”

via: Pete Dunne /Twitter

The tweet speaks volumes…almost to suggest that his last order of business with NXT would be the fatal 4-way match announced for NXT’s premiere episode after the widely written about revamp. The match will feature none other than Dunne, Tommaso Ciampa, LA Knight and even Kyle O’Reilly.

But perhaps once that’s done, he can maybe move on to face Bryan Danielson. Realistically, this may be a few years off and he may have re-signed with WWE, which I’ll go out on a limb and say is probably most likely, as he wouldn’t be featured as much as he has been on NXT TV if he was in fact on his way out.

NEXT: Moxley and Gage for the GCW title—ECW and WWE Legend, Al Snow, Saves Boy

But I will say that anything is possible in pro wrestling. I’ve said that before, after all.