WWE pulls Kurt Angle from another con appearance over possible AEW ties

Last month, WWE pulled Undertaker and Kurt Angle from announced appearances at Starrcast II. The company had just re-signed the legends to contracts which gave them more control over their bookings, and didn’t want the Olympian & the Dead Man working an event happening in conjunction with All Elite Wrestling’s first pay-per-view (PPV).

Understandable. There’s a debate to be had whether WWE is giving AEW free promotion by treating them like a threat before Double Or Nothing even happens. But they certainly look like the first real competition Vince McMahon’s had since billionaire Ted, so it makes sense they don’t want a WWE Hall of Famer and a main event act solely associated with their brand working in Vegas the weekend of May 25.

Now we have word The ‘E has pulled Angle from another advertised appearance - the Thanksgiving weekend Wrestlecade event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Wrestlecade creator Tracy Meyers told YES! Weekly that co-owner Brian Hawks was told it was because Wrestlecade is “associated with AEW”:

“In our 8 year history, the announcement of Angles appearance was one of our most popular. We were obviously excited and so were the fans. Then out of the blue, we received an email saying that Kurt had to cancel his WrestleCade Weekend appearance because WWE told him it competes directly with them. While I had read that WWE had pulled both Angle and The Undertaker from the Starrcast 2 event being held in Las Vegas May 23-26, I was still shocked. An agreement was in place with Kurt, the requested deposit was paid and the marketing blitz was in full swing. Now the fans are being penalized and it’s heartbreaking.”

Wrestlecade is not officially affiliated with any promotion or company. Their 2018 wrestling card was headlined by a NWA title match, and Billy Corgan’s fed doesn’t appear to have any links to All Elite at this time. The 2019 edition is advertising appearances by some prominent AEW names like Jim Ross and Dustin Rhodes, however. It’s also possible WWE has sources telling them a bigger connection to Cody & The Young Bucks’ new home is pending for Wrestlecade.

Interesting times...