WWE Sends Home A Popular Act That Is Expected To Land In AEW

WWE has removed yet another popular act from television, and the talented duo could be headed to All Elite Wrestling.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder of The Revival are expected to leave WWE soon, while WrestlingNews.co notes that that they are expected to end up in AEW down the road. Their contracts were originally set to expire in April, but Wilder’s contract has been extended until June due to “injury time,” meaning that the talented tag team could not join another promotion together until then.

With The Revival likely leaving WWE in the near future, the former Raw Tag Team Champions been removed from the road just two months after one of the world’s best pure tag teams turned down a lucrative contract offer to re-sign with WWE. Fightful (h/t WrestlingNews.co) says that multiple sources have told the site that The Revival’s pay has been “disrupted” because “they have exceeded their downside guarantees.”

According to BodySlam.net, Dawson and Wilder—who recently had their release requests denied—are just “ready to go” after rejecting a massive financial offer that would have paid each of them more than $700,000 annually. The Revival has reportedly now rejected multiple major offers from WWE after first requesting its release from the company in early 2019.

Although The Revival has won both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championship, they have spent much of the past two years without much direction. It was shortly after their initial release request in early 2019 that WWE seemingly made overt attempts to humiliate the duo, a trend that continued into late last year when the decision was reportedly made to purposefully turn them into a comedic tag team. That was essentially viewed as the last straw in their relationship with WWE given that Dawson and Wilder are known for being serious wrestlers who do tag team wrestling better than just about any duo in recent memory.

And The Revival hasn’t been shy about expressing its dissatisfaction with its positioning in WWE.

Dawson recently hinted those he was told by those within WWE that tag team wrestling “doesn’t draw,” which is something that WWE Hall of Famer Edge and The Young Bucks have also suggested. Certainly, the up-and-down booking of WWE’s tag team division would lead you to believe to believe that it isn’t much of a priority, which explains why two prolific tag team performers in Matt Hardy and Luke Harper are expected to land in AEW in the near future.

Hardy, who recently let his WWE contract expire, has flat-out said that he is negotiating with AEW, and the long-running expectation is that he will ultimately be revealed as the leader of The Dark Order, “The Exalted One.” Hardy could very well debut for AEW as soon as later this month, as is the case for Harper, who was released by WWE last December and is reportedly set to debut for AEW later this month, although that may have changed due to AEW’s recent postponements and cancellations. Based partially on all the teases that Dawson and Wilder have made over the years in regards to a jump to AEW, the widespread belief is that they will soon head to WWE’s new No. 1 competitor to add yet another incredible duo to what is shaping up to be arguably pro wrestling’s best tag team division.

AEW has made tag team wrestling a top priority since its inception, pushing a number of incredibly talented duos, ranging from The Young Bucks to Private Party to The Lucha Brothers, in a way that WWE rarely does. The Revival has an interesting contract situation because Wilder has had “injury time” tacked onto the end of deal, which was originally set to expire the same time as Dawson’s next month. That could presumably delay The Revival’s AEW debut, but it won’t delay the inevitable even though WWE may have ignited a trademark battle war with the duo as it has prepared to protect its gimmick in route to a possible exit.

Even though it could be another few months before both members of The Revival are free from their WWE contracts, pro wrestling fans should fully expect them to end up there as soon as they’re legally able to while Wilder seems to have chosen a new name that he could use once he leaves WWE as expected.