Dave Bautista – WWE Hall Of Fame, Continued Turmoil In AEW

Just weeks away from WrestleMania 39, and the WWE is just getting around to Hall of Fame (HOF) inductees but what’s the status on Dave Bautista and his induction? Also, problems continue to grow in AEW.

Dave Bautista – WWE Hall Of Fame

For those that recall, Bautista was supposed to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony was canceled, and he didn’t end up getting officially inducted.

More bad news for fans of Dave, as he likely won’t be included in this year’s Hall of Fame event, either. As many know, Bautista is not only an incredible wrestler, but he also happens to be a busy movie star, too.

According to reports, Dave will be in South Africa working on his My Spy project during WM 39 week. Sadly, this means another year will go by without Bautista in the WWE Hall of Fame.

More On This Year’s WWE Hall Of Fame

So far, the inductees taking place in this year’s HOF ceremony include Rey Mysterio and The Great Muta. Mysterio’s induction was announced last week on Friday Night SmackDown, while “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair announced the news about Muta, recently.

As per a report by PW Insider, there will be three more stars officially inducted into WWE’s HOF for 2023. One includes Stacy Kiebler, and the report also notes there will be no tag teams in the HOF this year.

Over to some AEW news, a recent report states more strife in the AEW locker room. More on this, below.

Continued Turmoil In AEW

Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer recently states that there are AEW talents backstage that “don’t want to be” in the company. Meltzer notes that Darby Allin’s recent comments in a promo that “guys complain” and “guys want to leave” were true.

However, he states that while Allin is speaking the truth, it looks terrible to say this on your own show. Dave reveals that he believes it’s like telling the fans that your promotion is a “secondary” company.

Meltzer also says that there are some weaknesses in AEW right now. One is that talent complains publicly about the product because there is no fear of repercussions.

Dave also relays that there are stars that don’t want to be there. They simply signed contracts because they didn’t think WWE would take them.

The “Fans Are Getting Softer”

Meltzer also states in his report that AEW’s fans are getting softer. They were once “into” the promotion, with a feeling that All Elite was going to be “#1”, and the better product because it was the “younger” and “cooler” product.

Dave goes on to say that currently, the feeling is that everyone wants to be in the WWE, or at least half the guys want to/tease they want to go there. When promos are made like Allin’s it’s like saying that they aren’t good enough to be in the WWE, so they are in AEW.

Should AEW vet their talents’ promos more closely moving forward to present a different image? Dave seemingly does have a point.

With that said, there has been so much drama in the AEW locker room as of late. From the CM Punk after All Out to Andrade and Sammy Guevara, the promotion needs to work on backstage issues.