Cathy Kelley Reportedly Negotiated Outside WWE Before Re-Signing

Monday night's episode of "WWE Raw" will be Cathy Kelley's third appearance since returning to the company on October 6, when WWE announced an overhaul of its announce teams. As it turns out, there was reportedly a point where Kelley was close to making her return to wrestling in a promotion other than WWE.

According to Fightful Select, Kelley had actually been in talks with AEW about potentially joining the promotion earlier this year. Sources added that talks were advanced enough that Kelley even had conversations with AEW Owner and CEO Tony Khan, with talks being described as promising between the two sides.

As is known now, a deal ultimately didn't come to pass. No reason was given to Fightful as to why Kelley and AEW weren't able to come to a deal, which side ultimately nixed the talks, and how close things got in regards to putting pen to paper. Despite not being able to reach a deal, it was noted that Kelley and AEW remained on good terms prior to her joining WWE a few weeks ago, and there was no mention of animosity between the two sides.

While Kelley is now officially back in WWE, AEW appears to have found its own interviewer extraordinaire in the form of Renee Paquette. The former WWE personality joined AEW just two weeks ago when the company crossed the border for "Dynamite" in Paquette's hometown of Toronto, Canada. Paquette signing with AEW followed rumors she was joining the company after it was reported that WWE had approached Paquette regarding a return, only for her to turn down the offer.