AEW Retains Arez Amid WWE Interest in El Clon Character

AEW has introduced a new character named El Clon, who debuted following Hologram's victory over Jay Lethal on AEW Collision, with the storyline involving a 'hack' of Hologram's code leading to El Clon's appearance. El Clon is portrayed by Arez, a prominent lucha libre star known for his work in AAA and U.S. promotions like GCW and MLW, and who has a longstanding rivalry and partnership history with Hologram’s performer, Aramis. WWE had shown interest in signing Arez after acquiring AAA, but upon learning of WWE’s interest, Arez informed AEW, which extended an offer he accepted, solidifying AEW's roster amid its collaboration with CMLL and contrasting WWE's expansion efforts. Tony Khan has been deeply involved in creating and developing the El Clon storyline, which had been tentatively planned for over a year, and AEW filed trademarks for El Clon and The Clone in 2024. Although Arez recently sustained a minor foot injury, it is not expected to affect the ongoing storyline. This signing follows Arez's performance at ROH and ACTION Wrestling events, which further raised AEW’s interest in him.