Bobby Fish has been in a weird place since his contract with AEW expired in August.

After having his “Undisputed Elite” run shattered by injuries to Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly in the second quarter of 2022, Fish appeared in just five AEW matches after Double or Nothing, taking a part in an Undisputed Elite plus Hikuleo versus Christian Cage, Darby Allin, Christian Cage, and The Jurassic Express match at the “Fabulous” Kia Forum, the Number 2 Contender Casino Battle Royale that was eventually won by O'Reilly, and a loss to Allin at the Rampage half of Road Rager plus two more Dark matches versus Brock Anderson and Blake Li. Once O'Reilly bowed out of in-ring action due to a neck injury, Fish's spot in the AEW Galaxy became hard to quantify, as he was still technically associated with the Undisputed Elite but was effectively out of the storyline without Cole and his reDRagon partner able to go.

This stop-start booking was brought up at a virtual signing in August for K & S WrestleFest, and Fish responded in a very interesting way, as relayed along by Post Wrestling:

I have to agree [Fish responded to a commenter who noted that he, Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly should be headlining shows]. I certainly agree. I mean what it comes down to, we’ve all been doing it a good long time and we’d have to be numb in the head and that’s the most political way I can put it to not be good at what we do. So, I know for a fact that myself, Kyle and Adam all do what we do at an extremely high level whether that’s together or separate and it’s our employer’s job to know what to do with that. So, frankly it just comes down to, like, figure it out, utilize your talent and we’re getting paid, use us the way you can best utilize us. Get the most bang for your buck and whether that’s happening or not currently is — I don’t know, it’s up for debate. In his [commenter’s] opinion, no.

I’ll just speak for myself and not speak for Kyle [O’Reilly] and Adam [Cole]. I should be utilized a certain way and if my employer doesn’t see that, then that’s bad on them. Know the value of your talent and that’s just being good at booking wrestling.

Goodness, it's no wonder Fish, and Tony Khan couldn't agree to a new contract with AEW, he clearly didn't appreciate how he specifically was being booked down O'Reilly and Cole. If AEW wasn't going to keep Fish in the loop and an active part of storylines without his podcast partners, why agree to a new contract, especially if the number isn't right? Well, who's to say Fish couldn't be back in 2023 when Cole and O'Reilly are both fully healthy, and AEW could run a right-propper Undisputed Elite vs. The Elite feud, as he doesn't sound completely closed off to any options moving forward?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZP9UUVs6fo

Bobby Fish is open to AEW, NXT, or even WWE moving forward.

While many folks chose to focus on Fish's comments on CM Punk from his interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston – and for good reason, it was incredibly spicy (read about it here) – the question of why he didn't re-sign with AEW was brought up, and his answer is pretty simple actually.

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“Contract was coming up for potential renewal, and we couldn't find common ground on the numbers that we needed for both sides to be happy,” Fish told Fall as per Fightful. “So yeah, I'm a free agent.”

Alright, alright, alright; simple stuff. So, if Fish is free to pursue other opportunities outside of AEW, would he ever consider a return to NXT? Fortunately, Fish spoke on that matter too:

I don't know. I'm open to all options and offers at the moment. I do know that there have been quite a few people who have gone back through those doors. I'm happy for the people that I know who left there after I had left, a lot of friendships, and things were weird there for a bit. For them to be back in the direction of some normalcy and positivity, and working for Hunter, I know I enjoyed. I'm just happy for the people that I know that remained and the people that have come back to work there and it's a good place to be again.

Interesting. Fish has been a vocal fan of Triple H in the past, and Roderick Strong could use a new friend now that the Diamond Mine is rapidly falling apart; maybe a return to NXT wouldn't be the worst imaginable outcome, even if signing a 45-year-old sort of flies in the face of the developmental brand's philosophy. Then again, “all options” also includes a return to AEW, where Fish is a lower mid-card performer on his own but part of a Pay-Per-View staple faction when Cole and O'Reilly are fully healthy. Maybe Khan has allowed Fish to test the mark and see what's out there for him with the understanding that an Undisputed/reDRagon Revival could be in order when O'Reilly is fully healthy, and the team can really lean into what made them so successful in NXT.

Otherwise, Fish's final act in AEW will be attempting to Pillmanize Nick and Matt Jackson after the duo refused to wrestle with him in the World Trios Championship Tournament.