WWE News: Company Beats AEW To Signature Of Top Independent Talent


AEW has benefited the wrestling industry as a whole, giving talent a viable alternative to WWE. This new option doesn’t mean that some performers aren’t still attracted to the biggest sports entertainment promotion in the world, however. According to a report by SoCalUncensored.com, Mercedes Martinez has agreed to a deal with WWE, after having been courted by both companies. She will be a member of the NXT roster in the near future.

The current Alternative Wrestling Show Heavyweight Champion is expected to report to the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida later this month, where she will officially begin her tenure as a full-time WWE superstar.

Some NXT fans may already be familiar with Martinez. She has wrestled for the brand on multiple occasions and has also taken part in the first two Mae Young Classic tournaments. In the first tournament, she even made it to the semi-finals, only to be defeated by current Friday SmackDown superstar Shayna Baszler.

In recent months, however, all signs have pointed toward Martinez joining AEW. She competed at this year’s All Out pay-per-view in the inaugural women’s Casino Battle Royale match, where she was eliminated by Britt Baker. Following her appearance at the event, she also wrestled on the company’s Dark show, teaming with Big Swole in a losing effort against Allie and Sadie Gibbs.

Martinez has been on a roll on the independent circuit over the last year. She made history 12 months ago by defeating Tyler Bateman to become the first woman to ever win the AWS World Heavyweight Championship, a title she’s yet to be beaten for. She will also be joining WWE as an undefeated champ, as the SoCalUncensored report states that AWS owner Bart Kapitzke plans on hosting a tournament to crown her successor.

Given that the AEW women’s division is still a work in progress, the company will be upset to have missed out on signing such a promising talent, especially one with 18 years worth of industry experience. Martinez came in tenth place on the Sports Illustrated list of top women’s wrestlers of the year for 2019, which only boosted her profile, as reported by SoCalUncensored.

The race between both companies to scoop up the best independent talent is beginning to heat up. As The Inquisitr recently reported, WWE is also seemingly planning to offer former Impact Wrestling star Killer Kross a main roster salary to join the NXT roster, in an effort to prevent him from joining the competition. The demand for independent talent between AEW and WWE will probably continue in the near future.

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