AEW personalities could soon disappear from SiriusXM’s wrestling programming now that WWE has officially taken control of the platform with the launch of WWE Radio.
According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Thunder Rosa, who had regularly appeared on Busted Open, is missing from every WWE Radio announcement. Meltzer added that people close to the situation believe she is no longer part of the show, suggesting the new WWE partnership could effectively end AEW’s presence on SiriusXM’s wrestling lineup.
“Thunder Rosa had been on the show but she’s not listed in any of the press releases and those close to the situation believe she will no longer be on the show. I would think given this would be a WWE controlled show that it would be impossible to keep an AEW talent on it.”
Meltzer also believes the new partnership explains something Jim Ross recently criticized. Just days before WWE Radio was announced, Ross questioned why Busted Open had become almost entirely focused on WWE instead of covering the wrestling industry as a whole. Meltzer believes the hosts were likely already aware that the WWE deal was coming.
“Jim Ross this past week had just criticized the show for not covering AEW enough, but obviously they’ve been aware of this deal for some time and that would explain it.”
The new WWE Radio channel will feature live audio coverage of Premium Live Events, audio simulcasts of Raw, SmackDown and NXT, along with WWE podcasts and daily programming built around WWE talent. Vic Joseph and Booker T will call Premium Live Events beginning with SummerSlam, while personalities including Dave LaGreca, Bully Ray, Mark Henry, Tommy Dreamer, Sam Roberts, Peter Rosenberg, Natalya, Raj Dhesi, Cody Rhodes, The Undertaker and Stephanie McMahon are all part of the announced lineup.
If this belief is correct, Thunder Rosa’s absence may be the first sign of a much larger change. Rather than simply adding WWE programming, the new deal could mean AEW talent no longer has a place on SiriusXM’s wrestling platform at all.
Do you think AEW personalities should still be featured on SiriusXM’s wrestling programming, or does WWE’s new partnership make that unrealistic? Let us know in the comments below.
