Backstage Speculation On How 2025 Free Agency For WWE & AEW Will Compare To 2024

2024 has been one of the most eventful years in recent memory when it comes to free agency, as WWE and AEW have picked up some of the biggest names in the business. With so many contracts expiring over the past year, many have wondered whether the same will be in store for 2025, but it looks as if fans will be able to take a breath in the new year. Fightful Select has revealed that 2025 won't be anywhere near the level of what 2024 has been like for both WWE and AEW, but he did note that other companies might be a little more active than they have been this year.

Sapp noted that the main reason why WWE and AEW have been so active in the free agent market is because of all the big media rights deals each company has secured. WWE currently has deals with the likes of the USA Network and The CW, and will be transitioning "WWE Raw" to Netflix at the turn of the new year. On top of those deals, AEW secured a big deal with Warner Brothers Discovery that begins in 2025, which will see both "Dynamite" and "Collision" simulcast on MAX and their usual networks (TBS and TNT). All of the extra money earned from these deals played a factor in both companies signing a number of talents to long-term deals.

AEW managed to secure the likes of Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Mone in the first three months of the year, with The Hurt Syndicate following in the fall. WWE, meanwhile, has landed The Motor City Machine Guns, Stephanie Vaquer, Giulia, and Jacob Fatu.