The Elite renew contracts with AEW
All four members of The Elite have renewed their contracts with All Elite Wrestling, Sports Illustrated has learned.
Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks’ Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson, and “Hangman” Adam Page each signed multi-year deals, ensuring that AEW will remain elite.
“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.”
In addition to their work on-screen, Omega and the Bucks will remain Executive Vice Presidents. They have been in that role since AEW’s creation in 2019, and will continue working to elevate the company even higher into the wrestling pantheon.
Omega’s work as a singles wrestler has been integral in the company’s progression. His Forbidden Door classic against Will Ospreay is the most recent example illustrating a different breed of wrestling in mainstream American promotions, showcasing a different type of brutality and storytelling than is present in WWE. Omega’s list of hit singles continues to expand, and there is a vast array to choose from, beginning with a Lights Out match against Joey Janela in 2019 that drew genuine excitement and displayed how AEW could be a true alternative as a challenger brand.
“Our original goal was to create a wrestling alternative and give a platform to talented people that we’d all felt deserved a spotlight,” says Omega, whose real name is Tyson Smith. “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.”
Omega has also worked memorable matches and programs with a large chunk of the roster, including Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, Jack Perry, Pac, and Page. He brought additional life to the tag division with Page, as well as an emphasis on trios matches that simply does not exist in WWE.
“Pro wrestling has a presence almost everywhere on the planet,” says Omega. “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.”
Omega would have been a prized commodity had he entertained free agency. While so many other wrestlers dream of headlining WWE’s signature WrestleMania event, Omega prefers to pave a new path.
“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.”
Later tonight on Dynamite, which is episode no. 200 for AEW, Omega teams with the Young Bucks against Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, and Satnam Singh. At first glance, the opposing groups do not share much history. That is not the case, however, as Lethal was a staple in Ring of Honor as the Bucks rose to prominence there, and Jarrett was briefly part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s famed Bullet Club, where Omega blossomed into superstardom. And if there are people pining for a more high-profile match, the Bucks are eager to follow their modus operandi tonight by, once again, exceeding expectations.
Matt and Nick Jackson–the Massie brothers, who are proud natives of Rancho Cucamonga, California–are founding fathers of AEW as half of the company’s four original EVPs. Cody Rhodes was also part of that quartet, but he left and returned to WWE. The Bucks will remain in AEW, keeping The Elite in their home promotion.
“We’re literally the ‘E’ in AEW,” says Matt Jackson. “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.”
It would have been a unique sight to see the Bucks leave AEW and wrestle inside a WWE ring. A number of factors, with their families atop that list, played a role in their return.
“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.”
The Young Bucks certainly would have created lasting memories in WWE. Yet it is more significant for them to create those in AEW.
“In my older years of my career, being closer to the end than I am the beginning, I’m not really one who worries much about my legacy anymore,” says Matt Jackson. “I’ve kind of noticed, like a summer tan, most memories fade. Or, they’re remembered differently or told with errors anyway. Oftentimes the memory is almost instantly forgotten, because you hit the refresh button. As far as my own personal stories, I’ll have enough to retell my grandchildren for a lifetime. And much of those stories can be about how I helped create a massively successful wrestling company where all of your favorites can be seen on live television every week.”
“Ultimately, I made the best decision for my family. 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.
The Bucks have wrestled some of the most spectacular matches in AEW history. The top of that list needs to include their 2021 cage match at All Out against the Lucha Bros., their classic Revolution encounter with Omega and Page in 2020, and two outrageously compelling performances while sharing the ring with FTR at Full Gear in 2020 and a rematch in April of 2022 on Dynamite.
Remarkably, the Bucks’ work in AEW has even surpassed their storied history of tags in New Japan and Ring of Honor, which included an evolutionary tag team bout against Evil and Sanada at Dominion in 2018, the famed Ladder War VI against the Motor City Machine Guns and The Addiction at ROH’s All Star Extravaganza in 2016, and their must-see bout against the Golden Lovers at NJPW Strong Style Evolved in 2018.
“The goal for us is to continue to build the company and still be the true alternative,” says Nick Jackson. “We can’t lose that identity. Short-term goals, the goal is to help make All In as successful and big as possible. I don’t think any of us ever thought we’d be able to sell 70,000 tickets for one show but here we are. It’s mind blowing and we keep moving that goalpost further and further.
“This is what we helped create. It’s made the wrestling business so much healthier. We take pride in the success AEW has achieved. I think it’s huge for AEW to keep The Elite. It’s a W for the company and for us.”
Matt Jackson also shared his upcoming itinerary, which put a smile on the faces of Bucks’ fans–and a snarl on those who constantly criticize as the two continue to reinvent the genre.
“Our next goal in AEW?” says Matt Jackson. “Piss more people off. Make people happy. Continue to think outside the box. Tell unique stories. Share a laugh with the guys in the locker room. Make my parents proud. Shine a light in an often dark place.
“And when it’s over, to come home to my family in one piece.”
The fourth member of The Elite is “Hangman” Adam Page. A former proud/underpaid public school teacher, Page–whose name is Stephen Woltz–did not have main event experience before AEW. His rise to the title stands as one of AEW’s single best storylines, and his run, which began by defeating Kenny Omega for the belt in November of 2021 before dropping it to CM Punk the following May–serves as only the beginning of Page’s time atop the company.
“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.”
Page shared the reasons that led to his decision to further commit to AEW, beginning with his family.
“At this stage of my life the selling point was the schedule,” says Page. “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.”
Page is the least seasoned of The Elite, with fewer years of experience than Omega and the Bucks. Yet he has never viewed that as a weakness. Instead, he has benefited from the wisdom and knowledge of his friends. That is a gift he plans on returning to other talent in AEW.
“Pro wrestling has given me so much, starting with free hot dogs, and now the ability to provide a secure future for myself and my family,” says Page. “I want to eventually leave it better than I found it for future generations.”
The Elite live to fight another day in AEW. Believers will rejoice, haters will find a new source of frustration, and the foundation of AEW will continue to be elite.
“Love us, hate us, cheer us, boo us, send us sweet comments, or heckle us,” says Matt Jackson. “As long as you feel something and you continue to watch the very company we announced on our YouTube series all those years ago, thank you.
“If you were hoping this would be our grand exit, sorry to disappoint you. You’re stuck with us. We’re not going anywhere.”
