Chris Jericho Talks Contract Change "Quite A Few" AEW Stars Offered
What type of deal were "quite a few" AEW stars offered recently?
Chris Jericho has revealed that "quite a few" AEW wrestlers were offered a "pay-per-appearance" deal on the back of their original contracts expiring.
Coming during a recent conversation with now-former All Elite talent Alan Angels on Talk is Jericho, the one-time Dark Order star would note how thankful he was to have been given a shot by AEW President Tony Khan to wrestle in the thick of the early stages of the pandemic.
The interview would also turn to the topic of Angel's exit from Le Champion's current employer, and it was here when Jericho noted how his guest wasn't the only performer offered a "pay-per-appearance" deal in the wake of their initial contract expiring.
As the former AEW World Champion would explain (via WrestlingInc):
"You're not the only one that got offered a per-appearance deal after their contract was done. [It] happened to quite a few guys. Because, once again, now [that] the first couple years of AEW is over ... CM Punk is here now, Adam Cole is here, Bryan Danielson is here. It's not a cut-down on you. It's just the way the whole financial contract scene went in AEW."
After being offered said "pay-per-appearance" deal upon his original contract with AEW expiring, Angels opted not to re-sign with TK's promotion in June, instead following fellow former Dark Order man Stu Grayson out of the company.
This isn't the first time "pay-per-appearance" contracts have been made known by an All Elite star, though, with former All Elite EVP Cody Rhodes discussing this type of deal being in play towards the end of 2020.
Judging from Jericho's comments, it appears Khan has had to rely on this type of contract a little more on the back of the big-name acquisitions of the likes of Punk, Danielson, and Cole last year. Though it isn't known precisely which AEW talents were offered this type of deal in recent times.