Private Party's Contracts Up "Very Soon", Heading To WWE? (AEW News)
Could Private Party be on their way to WWE?
Could Private Party be the next AEW act to swap Tony Khan's promotion for WWE?
It's been revealed that Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen are in a contract year, with Dave Meltzer noting in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the pair's existing AEW deals are up "very soon".
On top of this, Fightful Select adds that, as of early June, WWE had at least "preliminary interest" in both members of Private Party. Fightful also mentions how they've not heard if Kassidy and Quen have been offered new AEW contracts or if they've received a formal approach from WWE. Of course, if Private Party is currently still contracted to AEW, WWE would technically not be able to make an approach until those deals are up...
As this Fightful report alludes to, time out for injuries could come into play here. On that front, Marq Queen missed all of 2023 due to a shoulder injury. AEW has previously added time to existing deals due to time missed through injury, with Rey Fenix one notable example of this. Fightful has not heard if any time has been added on or whether there are any plans to do so.
Could Private Party Be WWE-Bound?
Having been with AEW since the company's infancy, Private Party was immediately presented as the hottest rising tag team in the business. However, it's fair to say that Kassidy and Quen's time with the promotion has been a little stop-start, and not just due to that injury for Marq.
When it was finally decided to put the AEW Tag Team Titles on Private Party, that was last October, over five years after their company debut. And even then, Isiah and Marq only had two successful title defences - a four-team match at Full Gear 2024 and a Collision win over Lio Rush and Action Andretti - before dropping their gold to the Hurt Syndicate in January. Private Party has yet to be seen on AEW since that loss.
So, could Private Party really be on their way to WWE? It certainly sounds like that's a possibility. In terms of what we know, the tandem's deals are up "very soon", WWE had "preliminary interest" earlier this month, and Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen have not appeared for AEW in six months. It's worth noting that there have been no reports of Kassidy or Quen dealing with any injuries during these past six months, and Private Party was in action for House of Glory in March.
If looking back at some now-former AEW talents, there has been a history of wrestlers being benched for several months once it becomes apparent that they may be seeking a future away from the promotion. Ricky Starks, Miro, Malakai Black, Penta, and Rey Fenix are just a handful of examples of this, and that's without mentioning Mariah May. Now known as Blake Monroe in NXT, Mariah was involved in one of - if not the - top storylines in AEW, then was completely pulled from programming for the final three months of her contract once it was clear she'd be looking to make the jump to WWE.