Piper Niven nearly became one of AEW’s first signings before the company even launched in 2019. The revelation came from Bea Priestley, now known in WWE as Blair Davenport, who shared the story in a new interview.

Speaking on “That Sweet Pop,” Priestley recalled how she, Niven, and Kip Sabian were all offered deals by Cody and Brandi Rhodes during the “Fight Forever” UK tour in December 2018. The tour featured a mix of independent talent alongside the soon-to-be AEW founders.

“I got picked up with AEW because there was a British tour over Christmas in 2018, I think it was called Fight Forever… They had me on it, Piper was on it, and Cody and Brandi were on it. So was Kip Sabian,” Priestley said.

Priestley explained that both she and Niven had matches with Brandi that impressed Cody. “Basically, I had a match with Brandi and Cody loved it. Brandi was really happy. Piper, the same thing, had a match with Brandi and they were really happy. They basically offer me, Kip, and Piper a contract,” she revealed. “Piper had already signed with NXT UK. She couldn’t do it, but Kip was like, ‘Yes, I want to move to America.’”

Priestley hesitated, wanting to continue wrestling in Japan for STARDOM, and initially turned down a full-time deal. AEW eventually offered her a part-time agreement that allowed her to split time between the promotions.

She later signed with WWE’s NXT UK as Blair Davenport before making her way to the main roster. Niven, who stuck with her NXT UK commitment, is now part of SmackDown’s Secret Hervice faction with Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre.

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