It’s been four years since All Elite Wrestling came into existence. Several wrestlers were tied into long contracts, and many of them are coming to an end this year or early 2024. This includes some of the top names in the company, including MJF who continues to tout the possibility of leaving AEW next year when his contract expires.
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He’s not alone though, many other wrestlers have to decide whether to renew their contracts or leave AEW for good. These wrestlers are soon going to negotiate their next contracts with them (some might already be doing that) and their decision could potentially change the landscape of this promotion.
7 Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega joined All Elite Wrestling as one of its founding members. He’s also an Executive Vice President of the company and also helps with the development of AEW’s Fight Forever game as its creative director.
Omega had signed a 4-year contract with AEW in 2019, which would have expired earlier this year if Tony Khan hadn’t extended it for months due to the time Omega spent in rehabilitation from injuries. There are many reasons why Omega (along with the rest of The Elite) should stay with AEW or sign with WWE instead.
6 The Young Bucks
When The Young Bucks first joined AEW, they were under a 2 year-long contract. In 2021, they extended their contracts with the company for another two years and their current deal is set to expire later this year.
There was one report that said The Bucks were signed through 2026, but they cleared things up on Twitter and said their contracts are up in 2024 instead. AEW fans will definitely want Matt and Nick Jackson to stay in AEW since it's a company they helped establish.
5 MJF
Nobody really knows MJF’s contract situation with AEW right now. Some fans believe that he already signed an extension before his return to television last year, but he’s continued to bring up the bidding war of 2024.
RELATED: 5 Reasons Why Fans Love MJF (& 4 Reasons Why Fans Dislike Him)
One thing MJF did confirm is that he signed a new contract last year, and Wrestling Observer confirmed it’s over $1 million per year.
4 Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes joined AEW in 2019 after getting his release from WWE. Initially, Dustin said he had no plans to leave WWE, but apparently, that dream match against his brother seemed too good to pass so he joined AEW.
Last year, he said that 2023 will be his final active year as a wrestler and his contract also expires this year. He explained his decision on Busted Open Radio: "I made the decision that 'Hey man, at the end of July, my contract is up.' I don't know if that's going to be it, because when we say we're retiring, we always come back. And we never say never. But that's what I'm looking for, an end date for my in-ring wrestling career." Rhodes also coaches wrestlers in AEW, so he’ll likely continue doing that.
3 Sting
Up until a few years ago, fans would’ve never expected Sting to wrestle again. He retired from in-ring competition after suffering a neck injury at the hands of Seth Rollins. The Stinger returned to wrestling over five years later during the Winter is Coming edition of Dynamite in 2019. His contract expires this year, and while Tony Khan has said Sting’s “starting to think about what retirement will look like,” the legend might not retire this year. Seeing him wrestle at the age of 64 is, as Khan said, very special.
Talking about his retirement, Sting said he wants to end his career on a positive note. He said: “Whatever I do, I want wrestling fans to say, ‘That was incredible. ’I don’t want them to walk away going, ‘That was embarrassing.’ I just want it to be a great memory and then to just finally, once and for all, say, ‘Adios.’”
2 Brock Anderson
Brock Anderson has been with AEW since June 2021. His father, Arn Anderson, recently revealed that Brock’s contract is going to end this May and even he has only one year left in his current agreement with AEW: “Well, Brock’s got about, I think in May his is up, and then I have another year passed that.” He also doesn’t know if AEW wants to keep using them in the future but he’ll stay as long as AEW wants to keep him.
1 Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe was released from WWE twice before he landed in AEW. Both times he was axed due to “budget cuts.” Last year, Joe talked about his second release from WWE and revealed that he relinquished his NXT Championship due to catching Covid and Vince wanting to do a complete overhaul of the brand.
There were also some rumors about his wrestling future, and many fans believed he was done. Then Joe debuted in AEW during ROH’s Supercard of Honor pay-per-view and it was revealed he had signed with both companies. His contract was reportedly for two years which should expire next year.
