Tony Khan Welcomes Former WWE ID Talent To AEW

By Ella Jay
Tony Khan is smiling Ethan Miller/Getty Images

What's been expected for weeks was finally confirmed by All Elite Wrestling CEO Tony Khan on Saturday night.

Following her "AEW Collision" match on January 17, Khan announced that former WWE ID talent Zayda Steel had officially signed with AEW. "She put up a great fight in her AEW debut match on #AEWCollision tonight, and now it's official: @ZaydaSteel is All Elite!" Khan wrote on X alongside Steel's "All Elite" graphic.

In October, Steel revealed that her time in "WWE Evolve" and the WWE ID program was coming to an end as she opted not to renew her WWE ID contract, which she had inked one year before. Weeks later, reports indicated that AEW and Steel were in the midst of discussions about potentially bringing her aboard to the AEW-ROH family. Steel's subsequent debut on Ring of Honor suggested that those negotiations yielded a positive outcome, but it wasn't until she faced The Death Rider's Marina Shafir on Saturday's "Collision" that it became clear.

Steel came out swinging at Shafir with a series of right hands before sending her to the outside with a hurricanrana. Shafir eventually gained the upper hand, however, and put Steel to rest with Mother's Milk for the victory. 

For this occasion, AEW veteran Christopher Daniels accompanied Steel to the ring, having formally welcomed her into SkyFlight on "ROH on HonorClub" the week before. Steel's entry into SkyFlight alongside the likes of Daniels, Scorpio Sky, and the Martins comes in the midst of Leila Grey's injury-related absence. As of this writing, the length of her AEW contract is unknown.

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