As the clock struck midnight and the East Coast of the United States turned from 2018 to 2019, a brand new wrestling promotion was introduced. Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page, and the Young Bucks introduced All Elite Wrestling — and confirmed it was a reality. Now, more news is coming out about the new company which includes contract information, who else is involved, and the possibility of Chris Jericho going “all-in.”
It was a great way to ring in the new year for wrestling fans, as All Elite Wrestling gives them yet another promotion to enjoy. At the same time, Rhodes and his friends teased the Double or Nothing event, one which will have more info revealed about it on January 8, 2019, from Jacksonville, Florida.
Interestingly enough, Jacksonville is home to the Jaguars — which is the NFL team owned by Tony Khan. As previously reported by the Inquisitr , it had been rumored that Khan was a part of All Elite Wrestling, and that he would be the person funding the promotion to get it going.
Knowing that, speculation started heating up in regard to Chris Jericho — as there have been rumors in the past that he’d have something to do with AEW. As reported by Wrestling Inc. , that speculation came alive again on Sunday, when Chris Jericho made a post on Instagram.
Chris Jericho posted a picture from the NFL game on Sunday, one which saw the Minnesota Vikings lose to the Chicago Bears. As readers can see in the caption belonging to the above photo, Jericho also thanked Tony Khan for the “hookup” — which, of course, has many wrestling fans losing their minds.
Of course, this is no guarantee that Jericho will have anything to do with All Elite Wrestling, but anything is possible. He’s not currently under contract with WWE, and has only one match remaining in his current deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
According to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet , there are some WWE superstars who may be interested in joining AEW.
As of January 1, 2019, there is not a great deal known about All Elite Wrestling — or who may be involved — but some names have already been confirmed.
- Cody Rhodes
- The Young Bucks — Matt and Nick Jackson
- Hangman Page
- SCU — Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky
As reported by Paste Magazine , the Ring of Honor contracts for all three members of SCU recently expired. On the episode of “Being The Elite” launched right after 2019 began, it was confirmed that there would at least be “appearances” by the trio.
Kenny Omega is still under contract to NJPW through January, and Marty Scurll’s deal with ROH is said to be in place through April. AEW contracts for wrestlers are said to be multi-year deals — with Rhodes already signing his, and The Young Bucks set to sign theirs this week.
All Elite Wrestling is now a reality, and it is a promotion that is going to have to compete with WWE, Ring of Honor, NJPW, Impact Wrestling, and others. It’s going to be a tough and uphill battle — but for wrestling fans, it’s a total win-win situation. As time goes on, it will be interesting to see if Chris Jericho, other WWE superstars, or anyone else ends up reaching an agreement with AEW.