Report: Why Stephanie Vaquer Chose WWE Over AEW

Stephanie Vaquer was reportedly close to signing with All Elite Wrestling before she received a personal phone call from WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels, according to a new report.

Speaking on Keepin' It 100, sports reporter and Spanish-language radio announcer for the Las Vegas Raiders Harry Ruiz claimed his sources stated that Vaquer ultimately chose WWE over AEW due to cash and creative. Vaquer was close to signing with AEW but that all changed after WWE became aware of the offer AEW had made.

"I'll just say it. Shawn Michaels called her personally. Instead of having somebody call her, Shawn Michaels called her and then ended up laying out a plan for what they were going to do with her and then a good monetary offer as well. So she ended up accepting WWE because they had the money, they had the creative, and it made more sense for her, even if this means that she doesn't get to work with New Japan and CMLL no more," Ruiz said.

An incident of Vaquer not being picked up at the airport ahead of Forbidden Door may have also slightly soured her on AEW, according to Ruiz.

"I heard something similar happened at Forbidden Door - she wasn't picked up from the airport and had to find her own way," Ruiz said.

A similar situation occurred ahead of AEW All In 2023 when onward travel was not arranged for CM Punk after he landed at Heathrow Airport and the former AEW World Champion ended up getting lost on the London Underground. This played into Punk being irritated at All In, a show which saw his AEW tenure come to an end following multiple confrontations with Tony Khan and a backstage scuffle with Jack Perry.

Stephanie Vaquer signed with WWE last week and made her debut in the company over the weekend at house shows in Mexico. She will be assigned to WWE NXT when she makes her way to TV.

H/T Cageside Seats