Erick Rowan interested in joining AEW, but not Brodie Lee

Erick Rowan could be a good fit for the AEW roster.

WWE cruelly released several wrestlers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Erick Rowan was among the wrestlers removed from the roster. Rowan spent most of the last decade with the company, having signed a deal to start up in FCW in February 2011.

Since then, he’s worn many hats, as his T-Shirt identifies, and has been a three-time tag team champion on both NXT and SmackDown. He won the SmackDown Tag Titles with Luke Harper and Daniel Bryan, while his win for the NXT belts also came with Harper as his partner.

AEW has shown interest or signed many former WWE wrestlers. Executive Cody Rhodes was a multi-time champion in the company before branching out on his own and later playing a key role in the creation of TNT’s newest wrestling show. Meanwhile, Shawn Spears, Arn Anderson, and others have worked in WWE in some capacity.

So while AEW have to be careful not to hire too many former WWE stars, there are some wrestlers, such as Matt Cardona, who could be great fits.

In a recent interview with Lewis Nicholls, via WrestlingNews.Co’s Andrew Ravens, Rowan spoke a little bit about his potential interest in signing with Tony Khan’s promotion:

"“As far as something like that, yes, that would be awesome to be able to show your talents on a national level because they do have a contract through TNT.”"

However, Rowan also added that he’d ideally like to stay away from Brodie Lee, formerly known as Luke Harper in WWE. Rowan tagged with Harper as part of the wildly successful Wyatt Family and part of the unsuccessful Bludgeon Brothers.

Lee has been enjoying a resurgence in AEW, parodying rich businessmen and the brainwashing corporate culture. His gimmick has drawn comparisons to a spoof of Vince McMahon, who didn’t exactly provide Harper with the best opportunities to shine.

The same can be said for Rowan, as his last gimmick in WWE involved him keeping a mechanical spider in a cage that was destroyed by future WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.

AEW could surely do better than that for Rowan, but since they must be cautious that they don’t become “WWE lite” as TNA once did, we’ll see if there is a spot for him. Furthermore, AEW did recently sign former tag champs The Revival after their releases from the “E”.