Members of the AEW locker room are not enthusiastic about the prospect of signing Sheamus.
The sentiment persists despite no personal ill will toward the former WWE star, with concerns centered on roster congestion and the displacement of existing talent, according to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live.
I did talk to a lot of people today in AEW who were like, ‘Are we really going to take this guy?’ Let me make this abundantly clear, everybody I talked to to a person was like, ‘I really like Sheamus. I really like him,’ but the basic gist of it is like there are so many people under contract and there’s so many people that already can’t even get on TV, and we’re gonna hire another 48-year-old? Like, everyone’s got ideas like Sheamus and Cesaro, being in the Death Riders. Nobody had anything against Sheamus personally. It was just sort of like, ‘Here comes another one,’ because The New Day’s probably coming, then Sheamus would be coming in, and that’s three more slots that people who have been there for a long time, or should be on the way up, or who should be younger, they’re going to be iced out again. People weren’t really thrilled about that idea.
The sentiment reflects a broader frustration within the AEW locker room about roster size. Multiple sources within the company told Fightful Select they had no advance knowledge of Sheamus’ WWE departure.
Claudio Castagnoli is expected to advocate for his close friend’s signing, but concerns from within the locker room add a layer of complexity to the potential deal.
