Update On Bret Hart's WWE Contract

It turns out the possibility of Bret Hart in AEW may not be dead after all.

A week after it was reported AEW was under the impression that Hart couldn't appear for them due to an agreement with WWE, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter seemingly confirmed that Bret Hart's only agreement with WWE was a merchandise deal.

"Bret Hart said that his only deal with WWE is a merchandising deal and not any other deal," Meltzer stated in his most recent newsletter.

Despite this new revelation, it is unclear to both Meltzer and AEW whether or not Hart could legally appear on AEW programming. It was also noted that as of now, Bret Hart has not been contacted to appear at AEW Double or Nothing, where the men's and women's finals of the Owen Hart Foundation Cup will take place. Dr. Martha Hart, Owen's widow, will be in attendance.

Speculation on a potential Bret Hart return to AEW has run rampant over the last several months, following several references to Hart by AEW talents FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood), the Young Bucks and CM Punk during matches and promos. While mostly tied to WWE, where he spent the majority of his Hall of Fame career, Bret Hart did appear at the first ever AEW event, Double or Nothing, back in May of 2019. He officially unveiled the AEW World Championship belt and was involved in a segment featuring future top AEW stars MJF and Jungle Boy.