AEW Officially Signs Former World Champion
Tony Khan’s AEW family gets a new addition.
All Elite Wrestling has officially signed Nathan Cruz, a well-known independent wrestling star, as a backstage coach and agent. The signing was revealed through Cruz’s lengthy, heartfelt social media message on Instagram, which he shared on August 25, 2025, after the Forbidden Door 2025 event. In the message, he expressed gratitude to Tony Khan and his company for the opportunity.
He wrote, “What an amazing week. I am so grateful to @aew and @tonyrkhan for this incredible opportunity to join the team as a coach/agent. Everyone has been so welcoming and I couldn’t be more proud to be joining a team that last night set an attendance record for professional wrestling inside the O2 Arena in London!”
“I’ve been sitting on this news for quite a while now and it’s relief to be able to finally talk about it publicly. After 19 years in this industry, many ups and downs that have been well documented for those who know my career; this honestly means more than I could put into words. Thank you.”
Nathan Cruz is a British wrestling veteran with a career dating back to 2006. He was the inaugural Progress Wrestling World Champion and has held various titles across Europe’s indie scene. Cruz overcame a failed WWE medical in 2016 due to high blood pressure, but remained a respected figure in British wrestling known for his technical skills and leadership.
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AEW Announces New USL Teams Partnership
All Elite Wrestling announced a groundbreaking partnership with the United Soccer League (USL) on August 24, 2025, teaming up with three USL clubs: Orange County Soccer Club, El Paso Locomotive, and Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The collaboration involves exclusive limited-edition apparel collections featuring AEW stars paired with each soccer club.
These collections are set to launch in September 2025 through Official League, marking AEW’s first major crossover into sports merchandise. This partnership expands the promotion’s brand reach beyond wrestling into the sports apparel market.
The collaboration celebrates AEW’s integration into broader sports culture, led by Tony Khan, who also serves as the Director of Football Operations and Vice-Chairman for his father Shahid Khan’s Fulham FC in the English Premier League.