The Elite, comprising Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Adam Page, have reaffirmed their commitment to AEW by signing new contracts with the promotion. These four individuals, along with Cody Rhodes, were instrumental in AEW's inception back in 2019, and now they will continue to be the foundation of the company for the foreseeable future, though the exact duration of their new deals remains uncertain.
Tony Khan, the owner of AEW, has demonstrated a willingness to invest significant resources to retain The Elite within the promotion. According to insights shared by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE expressed interest in bringing in The Elite, but due to their contractual obligations with AEW, they were unable to engage in any official talks.
“The four guys [The Elite] made a pact that they were going to stick together. Whether it be in WWE or AEW. And they basically had made an agreement that majority rules and it had gone back and forth. But essentially, I don’t know if it was 3/4 or 4/4, but they all made a decision as a group to stay as a group, so there was not going to be a split-up.
“If people thought they were never going to go, there were discussions, there were things that changes, things that happened since this pact was made and I think the pact was made some time back.
“It is a multi-year deal, I think 4, I don’t have it confirmed, and it is supposed to be secret. But it’s, obviously, the numbers financially are very high, because if they were not then they would not be here at this point. Obviously, Tony wanted them signed now and made it financially viable to make them sign now. He is not shy of spending money whatsoever.
“Are there guys that may not get signed when their deals are up? Yes. As far as key guys in the company, if they thought that WWE was going to make an offer substantially better, they would listen. WWE could not legally make an offer as they were still under contract. But WWE did have interest in all of them, especially Omega. But this is how it went down, they are going to be around and be on the London show and all the shows going forward.”
⚡ Rob Van Dam's AEW Contract Status After Debut RevealedFormer WWE Hall of Famer and ECW Original, Rob Van Dam, made a surprise appearance on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite to confront FTW Ch [...]
— Ben Jordan Kerin Aug 03, 2023 10:49AM
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