Tony Khan says AEW cannot keep adding free agents without thinking hard about the wrestlers already fighting for time on TV and on pay-per-views. That caution lands at exactly the moment fans are watching the market for names such as Motor City Machine Guns.
The timing explains why the subject is drawing attention now. WWE released a wave of wrestlers shortly after WrestleMania 42, and many of the 90 day non compete clauses have now ended, leaving a group of available names that includes Aleister Black, Santos Escobar, Motor City Machine Guns, Kairi Sane, Wyatt Sicks and Zelina Vega. The New Day may also be leaving WWE any day now, which only adds to the speculation around where the next batch of free agents could land.
Khan was asked about that approach in an interview with ROAR Around The Ring, and his answer was direct. He said there is a lot of competition in AEW right now, that different wrestlers are fighting for top spots every week, and that the company has to be very considerate about who it signs and who comes in to compete. His point was not subtle: AEW already has so many great wrestlers competing for slots on TV and on pay-per-views that every new addition has to fit into an already crowded picture.
That is why the expected Motor City Machine Guns appearance in Detroit became its own story. Last night, they did not show up on Dynamite in Detroit, even though that is where some fans thought they might surface. The guess did not go away, either. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley were still seen as having a decent chance to appear on the July 30 special live Thursday episode of Collision in Detroit, but Khan’s comments make clear that a debut is not automatic just because a name is available.
For now, the key issue is not whether AEW has interest in more free agents. It does. The question is how selective it will be when so many wrestlers are suddenly on the market and so few spots are open. If Motor City Machine Guns do come in, it will be because AEW decided they were worth one of those limited places, not because the roster had room to spare.
