Backstage News On Moose's Talks With WWE And The Decision To Re-Sign With Impact
Impact Wrestling star Moose reportedly had informal talks with WWE for a deal that likely would've taken him straight to the main roster.
It was reported in the summer of 2021 that Moose signed a new two-year contract with Impact Wrestling, despite significant interest from WWE and rumored interest from AEW.
At the time, Impact officials wanted to re-sign Moose before he hit free agency, but he received feelers from WWE officials who are no longer with the company. Fightful Select adds that Moose confirmed to them in a new interview that he had decided to leave Impact for WWE, until Impact Executive Vice President Scott D'Amore approached him with a final offer, which got him to stay.
Furthermore, the feelers from WWE reportedly led to informal talks, and there were pitches for him to go straight to the main roster, but that still had to be signed off on by WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. Impact officials then came to him with a significant offer and a major improvement to his old deal, but their offer required a quick response in signing it.
Moose then decided to stay with Impact. WWE sources noted that there was no heat on him for making that decision. This wasn't the first time WWE tried to sign Moose as they wanted to bring him on Tough Enough a few years back before he left ROH for Impact.
One of the WWE officials who sent feelers to Moose was former Senior Vice President of Talent Development Canyon Ceman. He was let go from the company last summer.
You can click here for Moose's December 2021 comments on choosing Impact over WWE.
Moose won the Impact World Title for the first time back at Bound For Glory in October 2021, cashing in his Call Your Shot contract to defeat Josh Alexander just seconds after Alexander won it from Christian Cage. He carried the strap for 182 days before losing it to Alexander at Rebellion on April 23. Moose then came up short against Alexander in his rematch for the title on Impact last week.
There's no word yet on what Impact has planned for Moose moving forward, but he recently teased that we will find out what's next at Saturday's Under Siege event.
Stay tuned for more.