New AEW Signing Confirmed

The All Elite Wrestling roster just got one man bigger, it seems.

Shane Strickland AEW mystery man
AEW

Toa Liona has claimed he has signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling.

Speaking on Koffin Radio, Liona, who became part of the Tully Blanchard Enterprises stable at ROH Supercard Of Honor 2022 on 1 April, claimed that although he is on the ROH roster, he may end up appearing on AEW programming (h/t Fightful):-

"It's official, I'm signed with them. I'm part of the ROH roster, but, I'm contracted so you never know when I might pop up on TBS or TNT. Watch Dynamite and Rampage."

Blanchard introduced Liona as one of his new managerial clients at Supercard Of Honor. Toa and new tag team partner Kaun now go by Gates of Agony, and destroyed Shinobi Shadow Squad on the pay-per-view's Zero Hour pre-show, having been introduced by their legendary mouthpiece.

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Later, Gates of Agony were formally announced as part of Tully Blanchard Enterprises along with Brian Cage.

Liona has been a semi-regular on AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation since making his first appearance in a tag defeat to FTR on the 23 October 2021 Elevation tapings. The big man revealed that AEW chief Tony Khan told him to "stay ready" after one of those shows, then outlined how he and Kaun came together:-

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"After all the Dark tapings, I had a conversation with Tony (Khan) and he pretty much said, 'stay ready.' I got my gear, had a conversation with Kaun, and we have the same type of mindset. We're both...we love to grind, we love to work hard, and we both want to be the best to ever do it. It was the perfect partnership for me and him to be put together. When that happened, we just had to stay ready and when we got that phone call, you get that opportunity, you have to get ready to hit it out of the park."

Khan is yet to announce ROH's next event despite Supercard Of Honor's success. Neither Kaun nor Liona are currently advertised for any upcoming AEW dates.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.