Two Ex-WWE Announcers Were Reportedly Backstage At AEW Dynamite Fight For The Fallen

AEW celebrated the new year in style with its Fight for the Fallen edition of "AEW Dynamite," which saw the company make its streaming debut on MAX with a show that was dubbed "The Mother of all Simulcasts." Fans in Asheville, North Carolina saw a number of top AEW stars in action, but there were some familiar faces backstage.

PWInsider has confirmed that both Samantha Irvin, and Beth Phoenix were backstage at "AEW Dynamite," but were simply visiting and no discussions of appearing on TV were ever brought up. Phoenix is the wife of Adam "Cope" Copeland, and their family currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina, and has been backstage for a number of AEW shows with her husband. As has Irvin, who is currently engaged to Ricochet, and couldn't appear on AEW TV even if she wanted to as it has been reported that she is currently under a non-compete clause following her departure from WWE in October 2024. PWInsider were unable to confirm how long Irvin's non-compete lasts, but if it runs for the standard 90 days like many other WWE contracts, she will be free to appear anywhere by the end of January.

A number of different faces have been backstage at AEW shows in recent weeks, with the Worlds End pay-per-view in Orlando, Florida on December 28 seeing the likes of Baron Corbin, AJ "Top Dolla" Francis, and Tyler Breeze all passing through to catch up with some old friends. Much like Phoenix and Irvin, there was no report on any of those names being brought in to AEW as they all lived in the local area and wanted to visit, but Corbin and Francis are now technically free agents, meaning that there is every chance the next time they are at an AEW show it could be as in-ring performer.