Backstage News On Recent Signings For AEW, WWE Offered Too Little and Assumed The Lure Of WrestleMania Would Be Enough

This week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter had some interesting notes regarding several notable signings for AEW, which include Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, and Mercedes Moné.

According to the report, Tony Khan offered more money to all three talents than WWE did. Some WWE officials assumed that the lure of WWE and WrestleMania would be enough to snag them one of those big names, but that obviously wasn’t the case. It was noted by people in WWE that Will Ospreay specifically was a talent that was given an offer way too low by Triple H.

As for Mercedes Moné, rumors have circulated stating that her contract with AEW if for $5 million a year. Those are false, but she is being paid a very high amount for the year, and is believed to be one of the highest paid women in wrestling. One female WWE star told this to the Wrestling Observer about The CEO’s big contract:

“I think it sets a standard that woman should be paid, too. The women do great numbers and have huge social followings” and also said that it was “a huge deal for women in the industry who are paid a lot less than men.”

Elswhere in the report, it was reiterated that Mercedes did negotiate with WWE in 2022 and 2023 and was seeking “Becky Lynch” money, but that wasn’t what WWE was offering at the time.