Brandi and Cody Rhodes offered All Elite Wrestling contracts to two notable wrestlers, including a recently released WWE star and a current member of SmackDown. In early 2025, Blair Davenport, who later reverted to her real name Bea Priestley, was released from WWE. Priestley shared in an interview with That Sweet Pop that both Rhodeses were impressed with her performance during a match with Brandi Rhodes and subsequently proposed an AEW contract to her.
Bea Priestley was not the only wrestler approached with an offer.
Details on AEW Contract Offers to Bea Priestley, Piper Niven, and Kip Sabian
Priestley revealed that both she and Piper Niven had matches against Brandi Rhodes, and both women received positive feedback from Brandi and Cody Rhodes. The couple, who were instrumental in founding AEW alongside Tony Khan and The Young Bucks, believed both wrestlers would be valuable additions to their promotion.
However, Piper Niven had already signed with WWE NXT UK at the time, preventing her from accepting AEW’s offer. Priestley explained that while Kip Sabian received a contract offer as well and was interested in relocating to America, she herself was still focused on pursuing opportunities in Japan and was hesitant to commit fully to AEW without complete clarity on the direction.
“Basically, I had a match with Brandi [Rhodes], and Cody [Rhodes] loved it, and Brandi was really happy,” Bea Priestley said. “Piper [Niven], the same thing–had a match with Brandi–they were really really happy. So they offered me, Kip [Sabian] and Piper contracts.”
“But Piper had already signed with NXT UK, so she couldn’t do it. Kip was like, ‘Yes, because I want to move to America, but I was like, ‘Well I still want to do Japan.’ So–because I hadn’t started at that point. I didn’t really know what it was. I don’t want to jump, funnily enough–no pun intended–all in, to something I’m not technically sure what I’m jumping into.”
Context on Career Moves Following AEW Contract Offers
AEW launched in 2022 and quickly grew as an alternative wrestling promotion in the United States. Three years later, Cody Rhodes made a high-profile return to WWE at WrestleMania 38. Meanwhile, Bea Priestley was signed to WWE from late 2021 until early 2025, when she was released. Piper Niven remains active on WWE’s SmackDown roster, alongside talents such as Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre.
The Rhodess’ AEW contract offers highlight their ongoing efforts to recruit and retain top wrestling talent, but existing commitments and career goals influenced the decisions of Priestley, Niven, and Sabian regarding AEW.
