Why Dave Meltzer Believes There's A Lack Of Excitement About Reported AEW Signings

Last year, AEW confirmed that they had signed New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Will Ospreay to a contract, with the 30-year-old slated to start for the promotion imminently. While not outright confirmed, it's also looking increasingly likely that AEW is about to introduce Kazuchika Okada as well as Mercedes Mone, the former Sasha Banks in WWE. However, not everyone feels that is enough to turn the company's momentum around.

Speaking on today's "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer offered his assessment of AEW's current situation. If these introductions had happened a year and a half ago, Meltzer believes there would have been a massive impact, but he doesn't see that happening in 2024.

"These crowds, most weeks, are not good," Meltzer said. "The Boston show, I think, is at about 5,700 tickets sold [in] the first couple days. Obviously, for an AEW show, that's very good. It's not through the roof, but ... I don't think it's [going to] be a sell-out."

Meltzer admitted that the crowd will likely be very excited about Mone's debut and it should be a good show. However, he isn't sure why the company decided not to announce her appearance outright, instead deciding to repeat what they did with CM Punk: heavily imply an appearance without stating anything for sure.

AEW recently announced their return to the TD Garden Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston also happens to be Mone's hometown and, with the event being given the name Big Business and the emphasis placed on it by AEW, it seems inevitable that Mone will debut at the show. Meanwhile, both Ospreay and Okada have recently wrapped up their NJPW runs, freeing them to make the move to AEW in the immediate future. As of the beginning of the year, the belief was that Ospreay would be starting with AEW this month.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.