A new report claims that many around the wrestling industry expect WWE to win the bidding war for one of the top international performers available in free agency.
Over the last five years, the women’s side of the WWE roster has taken huge leaps forward. Performers like Becky Lynch, Charlotte, and Sasha Banks stood on the shoulders of Hall-of-Famers Trish Stratus and Lita and took the division to new heights. Now the women that have followed them, such as Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, and Liv Morgan, are taking things even further.
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The growth of the women’s division in WWE has created greater depth in women’s wrestling overall to the point where companies like AEW can quickly put together a rock-solid women’s division with former WWE stars and talents from around the independent scene. That has also created the opportunity for bidding wars for female performers.
That was the case for CMLL and NJPW star Stephanie Vaquer this month. Although she was working exclusively for CMLL recently, the company has a policy where they allow performers to take offers from the biggest companies in the industry and will release them from their contracts to seek greener pastures on the largest stage.
Stephanie Vaquer expected to sign with WWE
Reports over the last week claimed offers were made to the former NJPW Strong Women’s Champion by both WWE and AEW. At first, it seemed like the No. 2 company in the world had the advantage since the Mexican wrestler recently performed at their Forbidden Door event earlier this month. But a new report claims she will not become All Elite any time soon.
On Wednesday, Fightful Select confirmed Vaquer has not signed with AEW or is closing in on a contract. They were also informed that “WWE showed interest after Forbidden Door. Sources within AEW who were at the show last week believed she was likely headed to WWE.”
WWE signing Stephanie Vaquer is another big free-agency victory for the company. In April, they also came to terms on a deal with Stardom great Giulia. Her debut in NXT is expected to be imminent. It is unclear if Vaquer — assuming the rumors are accurate — will head to the WWE main roster or also join NXT.
