Kenny Omega, Hangman Page and The Young Bucks sign multi-year contract extensions with AEW
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The Elite are staying put.
Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Adam “Hangman” Page have signed new multi-year contract extensions with All Elite Wrestling, according to a report from Sports Illustrated. Omega and the Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) will continue in their roles as executive vice presidents.
“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,” Tony Khan told SI. “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.”
Omega said in a post-match promo after Blood and Guts last month that he would “always” go where the Elite went.
“Our original goal was to create a wrestling alternative and give a platform to talented people that we’d all felt deserved a spotlight,” Omega told SI. “I feel like we did our best in that time, and hopefully some people you’d never heard of pre-AEW are folks you enjoy watching today. Or if you knew them from their previous work elsewhere, have maybe found a new appreciation for them. That feeling, combined with the feeling of knowing they can provide for themselves and their family doing what they love, was always the biggest reward of being an EVP/founder.
“In my pursuit to become as complete of a performer as possible, my goal was always to experience the styles of the world at their highest level. I believe that with AEW’s current working relationships, and possibly future, I can challenge all forms of pro wrestling and diversify my style so that I’m equipped for any scenario I may encounter in the ring.”
WWE was said to be after Omega, and according to reports, WWE believed they had a decent shot at signing him. Omega, in an interview with SI, seemingly acknowledged that those conversations took place.
“I was careful to weigh out all options and was open minded to all possibilities,” says Omega. “I’m here to help whomever I can while I’m still around.
“Up to this point, I’ve made the choice to sacrifice everything in the name of pro wrestling. I can’t say that family or my kids influenced the decision to stay with AEW–I’m not married and without kids–but what I can say is that I’m incredibly proud of my match catalog and the wonderful people I’ve met and continue to meet. AEW not only allows me to continue doing what I do at a high level, but allows the freedom to pursue some other passions I have in life–which, after nearly 25 years in the ring, have become more and more important to me.”
The Bucks told SI that one of the main components in their decision to remain with AEW was the schedule.
“If we’re going to be honest the schedule was a huge part of it,” says Nick Jackson. “I have a wife and three young children and seeing them as much as possible was a big factor. I’m not going to lie, the money was a huge factor, too.
“At this point of my life and career, I just couldn’t see myself being on the road half of the year or even more than that. I have so much respect for the guys and girls that are able to do that year after year. We for sure could’ve made memories in WWE, but what’s more important to me is making memories with my family. With the position we’re in, I’ll be able to do that and still make memories in AEW.”
“Ultimately, I made the best decision for my family,” added Matt Jackson. “Working in AEW will allow me the most time with my children, and they’re still at the young age where they need their dad home as much as possible. Having the strongest marriage possible with my wife Dana is so important to me as well. When wrestling is finished, I want to come home to a full, healthy home. The entire Elite was going to make the decision of where we were going, together. And that’s what we did. We stuck together. Which isn’t typical in the wrestling business. But again, I used the word family earlier. We’re not just locker room pals. We’re more like a family. And we did what the family wanted.”
Even Page, who is only 32 years old, said the AEW schedule was a main factor in his decision to remain with AEW.
“At this stage of my life the selling point was the schedule,” Page said. “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.
“AEW emerging as a legitimate wrestling company has helped drive up bargaining power for wrestlers and others who work in the industry. Making a long-term commitment to a still-growing AEW I felt was the best way I could help continue that progress.”
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