Backstage Update On Brian Cage's AEW Contract Status

The Machine will be remaining #AllElite for at least another year.

by Andrew Pollard
Brian Cage
AEW

With many recently speculating that Brian Cage could be on his way out of AEW, the Machine is going to be remaining #AllElite for at least another year.

Via Fightful Select, AEW has opted to exercise the option to extend Cage's contract through until February 2023. Previously, the former IMPACT World Champion's deal was due to expire this 21 February. Rather than deciding to let that contract lapse and make Cage a free agent, AEW instead triggered a one-year extensions a couple of days before the deal wrapped up.

Despite being active on the independent scene across the past several months, the 38-year-old powerhouse has not been in action for AEW since losing to former Team Taz cohort Ricky Stars on an episode of Dynamite last October. Fightful notes that Cage hasn't been seen backstage for several months, although he did still turn up for TV tapings for the first few weeks after he stopped being used on television.

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One has to presume that Tony Khan still has plans for Brian Cage, otherwise it makes zero sense to trigger a contract renewal. That said, it remains to be seen when and where the California native resurfaces on AEW programming.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.