The Elite’s Future In AEW Confirmed
The Elite will be remaining in AEW after all members sign multi-year deals with the promotion.
As reported by Sports Illustrated, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and “Hangman” Adam Page have all signed new contracts with All Elite Wrestling, much to the delight of the promotion’s president Tony Khan:
“The Elite have been so important to the launch of AEW, with the Young Bucks going all in when I first approached them in 2018 about my dream to create an international pro wrestling promotion,” said Tony Khan, who is CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “Shortly after that, their partners and closest friends Kenny Omega and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page joined us to formally launch All Elite Wrestling. All four of them have been instrumental to AEW’s success from the very first episode of Dynamite in 2019 through the present day.
Now, as we celebrate tonight’s 200th episode of Dynamite, I’m excited to share that Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Hangman Adam Page will all be staying in AEW for years to come. We look forward to celebrating the great news with fans around the world.”
The article goes on to state that Omega and The Bucks will remain in their positions as Executive Vice Presidents of the company, a role that all 3 wrestlers have had since the company was first founded.
All 4 members have commented on the new deals, with the reduced schedule being one of the main selling points. Former Champion “Hangman” Page has stated that he doesn’t see himself wrestling for any other company in the future:
“I think it’s very meaningful that, as a day one guy, I stay with AEW,” says Page. “It’s likely that I will one day finish my career here. Hopefully that can help the future generations see that there can be more than one path to success. At this stage of my life the selling point was the schedule. 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.”
Matt Jackson felt that the deal was a no-brainer, as the group are the heart and soul of All Elite Wrestling:
“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.”
The new deals have proved to be very lucrative for The Young Bucks, with the contacts being the highest paying for a tag team in the history of wrestling.
The trio of Omega and The Young Bucks will be in action on the 200th episode of Dynamite. The opponents for the former Trios Champions will be Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh.
Who Are The Elite?
Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam Page were some of the first names to be signed to All Elite Wrestling upon the creation of the company in 2019. Omega and The Jackson Brothers would help develop talent and build up the company behind the scenes, whilst also putting on critically acclaimed matches on TV and pay-per-views. Page is one of the many talents who improved whilst being in the company, going from a relatively unknown wrestler to eventually defeating Omega and becoming the new World Champion.
While signed to All Elite Wrestling, the group have a combined 16 matches that have been rated 5* or higher by Dave Meltzer.