Honestly, I think this is great news. Even above and beyond The Elite’s value as talent, they are core to AEW’s identity.
I pulled a few quotes from the article. It’s worth the read if you have the time.
Kenny Omega:
“…In my pursuit to become as complete of a performer as possible, my goal was always to experience the styles of the world at their highest level. I believe that with AEW’s current working relationships, and possibly future, I can challenge all forms of pro wrestling and diversify my style so that I’m equipped for any scenario I may encounter in the ring.”
“…What I can say is that I’m incredibly proud of my match catalog and the wonderful people I’ve met and continue to meet. AEW not only allows me to continue doing what I do at a high level, but allows the freedom to pursue some other passions I have in life–which, after nearly 25 years in the ring, have become more and more important to me.”
Nick Jackson:
“If we’re going to be honest the schedule was a huge part of it. I have a wife and three young children and seeing them as much as possible was a big factor. I’m not going to lie, the money was a huge factor, too.”
“The goal for us is to continue to build the company and still be the true alternative. We can’t lose that identity. Short-term goals, the goal is to help make All In as successful and big as possible. I don’t think any of us ever thought we’d be able to sell 70,000 tickets for one show but here we are. It’s mind blowing and we keep moving that goalpost further and further. This is what we helped create. It’s made the wrestling business so much healthier. We take pride in the success AEW has achieved. I think it’s huge for AEW to keep The Elite. It’s a W for the company and for us.”
Matt Jackson:
“We’re literally the ‘E’ in AEW. The Elite are the main characters of this company. No matter how different AEW is now from its original inception, we are the DNA. And if you lose the foundation of your home, it eventually collapses. It’d be a lie if I said that didn’t weigh on us, when making the decision.”
“…As far as my own personal stories, I’ll have enough to retell my grandchildren for a lifetime. And much of those stories can be about how I helped create a massively successful wrestling company where all of your favorites can be seen on live television every week.”
Adam Page:
“At this stage of my life the selling point was the schedule,” says Page. “AEW’s schedule allows me to be home with my family for the majority of the week and will ideally help my body hold up better in the long run. And the pay is good.”
“Pro wrestling has given me so much, starting with free hot dogs, and now the ability to provide a secure future for myself and my family. I want to eventually leave it better than I found it for future generations.”
Wonderful news! They’re the heart and soul of the company and it would be a gigantic hit to lose them at this stage of their career and AEW’s lifecycle.
It would be so weird to have “All Elite Wrestling” without The Elite. Glad to see they’ll all be sticking around!
I guess they would just rename it to “All Wrestling”.
Some Elite Wrestling.
The Young Bucks and Hangman don’t do anything for me, but Kenny is still one of the best in the world in the ring. This is good news.
This is very good news. I hope this leads to huge things for aew in the future
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To be fair, Hangman was on the hook for all those Forbidden Door purchases he made for the entire country of Malta.
I felt like after they made their big stand against BCC prior to Blood and Guts it was obvious they weren’t going it would have been a real dick move to stand in the ring proclaim that they are the elite on all elite wrestling and then up and leave.
