AEW may be changing the way it handles contract talks, and Jack Perry’s situation is just the latest example.
While speaking during a Self Made Session, Self Made Pro said Tony Khan no longer appears as pressured to hand out huge raises just to keep talent from leaving. The reason is pretty simple: WWE is not viewed as the automatic golden ticket for every former AEW wrestler anymore.
“Here’s what’s going on with that. It’s nothing against Perry. He will most likely stay in AEW, but he would like to get a big raise like most people get when it’s time to re-up with AEW because that had been the norm.”
That is the part that matters. For a while, AEW talent could go into contract talks knowing WWE might be sitting on the other side. That gave wrestlers leverage, and it gave Tony Khan a reason to pay up. Now, that leverage may not hit the same way.
“I talked to people about this and the belief is that because of the situation in WWE right now where a lot of these deals are very volatile, where a lot of these deals are not honored, where there’s not a lot of space, where a lot of ex-AEW guys go over there and struggle, there is less of an incentive for Tony Khan to overpay people to stay in his company, especially if they’re not significant impact players.”
In other words, Khan may not be negotiating out of fear anymore. If a wrestler walks, AEW can look at WWE’s current landscape and wonder whether that person would even get a better spot there. That is where Perry comes in. We had previously reported that Perry still has not re-signed with AEW, even though his contract is coming up very soon.
Still, according to Self Made Pro, that does not mean AEW has to throw a massive number at him just because he could look elsewhere.
“So Tony Khan now he has no incentive to go, ‘Oh my god, Jack Perry, please don’t go to NXT. Please, here is $800,000.’ It does not matter because everybody knows if Jack goes to NXT, he may do well, he may not. So Tony is basically taking the approach now of, well, all right, I’m not gonna go crazy when these deals are up.”
That is a pretty big shift if it becomes AEW’s new normal. The company can still keep talent it values, but the days of overpaying just to block WWE from getting someone may be cooling off.
Perry may still end up staying with AEW, but his negotiation is showing something bigger than one wrestler’s contract. Tony Khan may still want to retain his roster, but he no longer seems compelled to pay premium money just because WWE exists.
Do you think AEW is right to stop overpaying talent to keep them away from WWE? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
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