This past year has so far seen WWE release a total of 82 talents from their contracts. It’s a staggering number, and in the name of ‘budget cuts’, things could only get worse from there. This alone has led to a lot of disillusion from the fans of WWE, and have them seeking out alternatives in the world of professional wrestling. AEW is just one of those alternatives, and one of the most attractive. It’s got a set of easy to watch weekly programs, highly rated PPV events – and as owner Tony Khan puts it, more secure contracts than WWE.
Tony Khan Claims WWE Offers Temporary Agreements, Not Contracts
While making an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Tony Khan would get into talking about the slew of recent WWE releases – and addressed a comment from rising star MJF on the latest episode of AEW Dynamite. He claimed he will kick off a bidding war in 2024 when his AEW contract expires, and Khan is fine with that. Furthermore, he’d say the following in regards to the contracts of AEW vs. the contracts of WWE.
“Anybody who signs a contract in WWE these days is not signing a real contract, in my opinion. It’s a temporary arrangement. People who come wrestle with me, a lot of these people are frankly lifers and they know that. And there are some people who are here, and work really hard. And there’s some people here who come in and work more than really hard.
Some people come in, and I feel like this is their actual life and will be with me for the rest of my life. And I don’t know if everybody who works for my competition can say that. I think there are people who work there and they aren’t sure they will be there next week. So I just think there’s a lot more security with a contract here.”
He’s Backed These Words Up With How He Handles AEW Contracts
This isn’t just talk from Tony Khan either, best shown by the contract situation of Mel. Mel was brought in early in the life of AEW Dynamite as part of the ill fated Nightmare Collective faction. After the faction died, Mel got a few shots on Dark and in the Deadly Draw tournament, before her contract ran out. Khan could have opted to release her once there was nothing for her to do – instead he let her collect the guaranteed downside on said contract while she worked on the indies.
We have seen people released from their AEW contracts all the same, but it wasn’t over nothing. Jimmy Havoc & Ivelisse are the notable contracts that were cut short. Havoc was a major source of heat due to his name being implicated in the Speaking Out movement, and Ivelisse was causing a slew of problems backstage. It takes a lot to be fired from AEW.
Do you think Tony Khan will continue to have this mindset in regards to AEW’s contracts? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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