WWE Hall Of Famer Arn Anderson On Mentality Of Wrestlers Moving To Other Promotions

For a long time, the idea of wrestlers moving from promotion to promotion, as they had during the territory days and the Monday Night Wars, seemed finished, with WWE as the only game in town. Things have changed since the arrival of AEW in 2019, however, with bidding wars in wrestling popping up again, and at times at an accelerated rate, with 2024 in particular proving to be one of the most active years in the history of wrestling free agency.

On the latest episode of "ARN," former WCW, WWE, and AEW star Arn Anderson and co-host Paul Bromwell shed some light on why wrestlers decide to move from one promotion to the other. Anderson ultimately concurred with Bromwell's view that decisions on wrestling free agency had changed from Anderson's era, with scheduling, pay, and the ability to work other promotions becoming more important than before.

"As a talent, virtually all of them that are making a big move from one company to the next and they have been in a good position with one and they're going to plan on being in a good position with this new company coming in, all those things you just said are what goes through their minds," Anderson said. "Sometimes it's just 'Hey, I want to work less days.' 

"Sometimes that's all it is...It all goes into the thought process. And you just never know what the deciding factor is...Maybe there's guys that you missed along the way with the other company that are now working with the other company, that you always thought about 'Man, I'd love to work with that guy.' And that was your only option."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "ARN" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription