Bea Priestly discusses signing with AEW and how they almost got Piper Niven.
In 2019, it was announced that Bea Priestley had joined All Elite Wrestling, becoming one of the first to put pen to paper with the company. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic began just over a year later, the former World of Stardom Champion couldn’t travel from her home in Japan, leading to her release from AEW in August 2020. Now, the 29-year-old has discussed getting signed by Tony Khan’s company in its early days, revealing that they also made a move for another of the UK’s top female talent.
Speaking to That Sweet Pop, Priestley talked through receiving an offer from Cody and Brandi Rhodes in December 2018. Interestingly, along with Kip Sabian, she also notes that they were interested in Piper Niven, though she had already signed with WWE and couldn’t accept.
“I got picked up with AEW because there was a British tour over Christmas in 2018. I think it was called Fight Forever. I don’t think the company exists anymore. They had me on it, Piper was on it, and Cody and Brandi were on it. So was Kip Sabian. 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. Piper had already signed with NXT UK. She couldn’t do it, but Kip was like, ‘Yes, I want to move to America.’ I was like, ‘I still want to do Japan.’ [AEW] hadn’t started at that point and I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t want to jump, no pun intended, all in, to something where I’m not technically sure what I’m getting into. They were like, ‘Do you want a part-time deal? You can still work full-time STARDOM.’ I was like, ‘Perfect.’”
-Bea Priestley
Priestley would then explain how Kenny Omega was extremely accommodating with regard to her STARDOM schedule, allowing her to be full-time in both Japan and America.
“It was per match appearance until Kenny (Omega), who has always been a good mentor for me. I think he’s always liked how dedicated I am to Japan and that I mix the Joshi and Western style a little bit. Kenny sat me down. Christopher Daniels tried to talk to me about signing full-time with AEW. This was September-October 2019, and I explained, ‘I don’t mean any disrespect.’ I was champion in STARDOM at the time as well. ‘I want to dedicate a lot of my time in STARDOM. I don’t want to up and go because you guys are after me and offered me a contract.’ [Daniels] was like, ‘Okay.’ A week later, Kenny talked to me and was like, ‘You can still work full-time STARDOM. We also want you full-time here. We’re not going to (conflict with) STARDOM dates, STARDOM can come first. We just want to have you when it fits your STARDOM schedule.’ Essentially, what I was already doing, but getting paid on a contract basis and not a per match one, which was great because COVID happened and I was still getting income for a few months.”
-Bea Priestley
Priestley signed with WWE in June 2021 under the new name of Blair Davenport. She appeared in both NXT and NXT UK before making her way to SmackDown as part of the 2024 Draft. Unfortunately, the Brit was released in February 2025, however she has since made her return to STARDOM and is set to challenge Saya Kamitani for the World Of Stardom Championship on September 6.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Bea Priestley as soon as we hear more.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
