Anthony Henry Says Current AEW Star Almost Signed To WWE Alongside Him

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Before arriving to All Elite Wrestling in September 2021, Anthony Henry was briefly contracted to WWE from January until August of that same year. Performing under the name of Asher Hale, Henry primarily appeared on "WWE NXT" and "205 Live" programming, notably wrestling against the likes of Grayson Waller, Ariya Daivari, and Roderick Strong. In looking back on his WWE run, Henry recently noted that he was also almost joined by long-time tag team partner JD Drake.

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"Something not many know: [JD Drake] was supposed to be signed, alongside myself, for WWE," Henry wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Obviously, that didn't happen. I often wonder what would have happened had that happened. I think we still would have ended up where we are, but the journey would have been different."

Last year, Drake confirmed that he and Henry were both contacted by WWE about a tryout opportunity in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this tryout evidently resulted in success for Henry, Drake, on the other hand, was informed that he wasn't medically fit to compete for the company. As such, Drake then reached out to AEW's current Vice President of Creative Coordination Q.T. Marshall, who laid the path for him to come aboard AEW.

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Following his release from WWE, Henry followed in the footsteps of Drake by making his AEW debut against Eddie Kingston on the October 5, 2021 episode of "AEW Dark." Together as the WorkHorsemen, Henry and Drake became regular fixtures on AEW, and later, in Ring of Honor. Currently, Henry remains sidelined as he continues to recover from a broken jaw.