Following Vince McMahon’s return to WWE and the acquisition of the company by the Endeavor Group, there have been no publicly announced main roster signings in WWE.
In fact, WWE is said to have a “hiring freeze” in place and Fightful Select has shared some new details regarding the matter.
According to the latest report, WWE higher-ups have restated that an effective freeze on new signings has been in effect since January.
Nick Aldis was informed that WWE was interested in him. The former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion was also told that there were no main roster hires currently being made amid WWE’s corporate moves. Aldis eventually decided to agree to a short-term deal with Impact Wrestling while he takes a “wait and see” approach with WWE.
Additionally, a WWE higher-up informed people in the industry that while WWE has been talking to people, the company isn’t currently hiring.
WWE reportedly had contact with EJ Nduka and Jay White, with Triple H being headstrong that none of the details of the discussions should leak out. Both William Regal and Bruce Prichard had reached out to talent during that time.
WWE was heavily interested in White, but a communication error on their part caused The Switchblade to sign with Tony Khan’s AEW.
WWE had also been interested in Hikuleo and Tama Tonga, as well as bringing back Naomi, but none of them panned out and everything was put on hold following McMahon’s return.
Multiple free agents have suggested that WWE fully stopped responding to them. A higher-up in the company also noted the fact that WWE hired over 20 main roster talents in the last half of 2022 but none yet in 2023, although the hiring freeze was more a matter of the promotion’s talks to prepare the grounds for a potential sale.
For what it’s worth, many talents and staff are expecting the usual post-WrestleMania cuts to happen in the very near future.
