Why Tom Pestock, Fka WWE's Baron Corbin, Says He Doesn't Want To Go To AEW Right Away

For most stars who have left WWE, AEW is the likely destination in the pro wrestling world, but Baron Corbin doesn't want to use that card immediately. Corbin, real name Tom Pestock, has created a new character since his WWE exit which he has called Bishop Dyer, but the Dyer gimmick will have to wait a while before it debuts in AEW. 

In a recent discussion with Chris Van Vliet on "Insight," the former WWE United States Champion is grateful for his time in WWE, acknowledging that the Baron Corbin character wouldn't have existed without WWE. While discussing his pro wrestling future, Corbin stated that he is eager to wrestle around the world, including NJPW, and wants to shed the tag of being a "WWE guy" before making the jump to AEW. 

"I would love to go to New Japan, I think, for multiple reasons. You know, the door never closes with WWE either, and as far as AEW, their fans, they like that AEW, in a sense, is, you know, its own entity and built from the ground up and I don't want to be — if I went there, out of respect for that world, I wouldn't want to be just another WWE guy that came there because they left WWE," he said. "I would rather go and do like New Japan for a year or more, who knows, maybe that's where I just love it and I stay there for the rest of my wrestling career. So if I ever did go that route, I would want to kind of clear that, 'Oh, he's just a WWE guy coming over.'"

The former WWE United States Champion categorically stated that the Corbin character no longer exists, explaining that he has a new name and character, i.e. Bishop Dyer.

"Like, Baron Corbin is dead as far as we know. We're dropping [a] new name, new moniker, new character," he added.

Reports have suggested that NJPW is interested in signing him, while he was also backstage at a recent AEW event, although reports later clarified that he was there to meet friends.