Cole Karter might be sleeping with the fishes, but he learned how to swim. Or some other cute quip.
Fightful Select was told by multiple AEW sources on July 21 that Cole Karter was "under an AEW deal," after his showing against Ricky Starks for the FTW Title on the July 20 AEW Dynamite, with Karter telling some AEW talent of the news. When we poked around, we were told that it was likely a tiered deal.
Karter had performed under the moniker Troy Donovan on NXT before he was released and written off on TV due to a wellness policy violation. This isn't Karter's first rodeo with AEW, however. In 2021, he competed on several episodes of Dark in Jacksonville, and even an episode of Dynamite against Anthony Ogogo. Even after the shows were moved out of Jacksonville, he was used on shows in Pittsburgh and Orlando, as recently as last October.
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