Could we see Baron Corbin and AJ Francis in AEW?
According to Sean Ross Sapp, the former WWE stars were backstage at World’s End this past Saturday.
Francis confirmed the report with his post thanking Tony Khan and QT Marshall for a one day pass.
The report doesn’t state the reason both men were at the show, though Sapp does note that Francis was seen talking to Tony Khan. At the moment, neither Francis or Corbin can sign anywhere. The former is still under contract with TNA as it doesn’t expire until Jan. 1st. Corbin is under a 90-day no compete clause.
The news certainly comes at an interesting time. WWE opted to not renew Corbin’s contract and the former United States Champion was a free agent on November 1st. That ended Corbin’s 12-year tenure with the company. It came as a shock to many as the 40-year-old seemed like a WWE lifer.
He won multiple titles including the United States and NXT Tag Team Championships. Corbin was pegged to be a main event star at one point, but the 2017 Money in the Bank winner notably went down the card after his brief main event stint against Seth Rollins in 2019.
There seemed to be a resurgence with Corbin in early 2024 as him and Bron Breakker unexpectedly won The NXT Tag Team titles. The run was considered a success as Breakker and Corbin had great chemistry despite the short stint. However, it was all downhill for Breakker once he was moved up to the main roster.
The opposite can be said for Francis. Known as Top Dolla in WWE, he released again in 2023 after a failed return with B-Fab and Ashante “Thee” Adonis. Francis has been working hard on the independent scene and showed great improvement during his time in TNA. He’s coming off a world title match against Nic Nemeth at Final Resolution earlier this month. It’s said that TNA was interested in keeping Francis onboard, but it seems that he’s exploring other options before his free agency.