Kofi and Austin Creed aren’t just sticking around AEW for a short run. The New Level have reportedly signed five-year contracts with the company, and Swerve Strickland apparently played a major role in helping bring the two longtime WWE stars through the door.
According to Fightful Select on October 22, both Kofi and Creed agreed to five-year AEW deals. That gives AEW a pretty serious long-term commitment from the duo after their arrival at All In.
There’s also an interesting story behind how the relationship came together. Fightful reported that The New Level were pitched for AEW with the idea of working with Swerve Strickland, who ended up becoming an important link between the two sides.
Strickland played a big part in bridging that relationship while Kofi and Creed were still unavailable for direct negotiations. Tony Khan wouldn’t speak with them until they were contractually free, meaning Swerve was apparently helping lay the groundwork before AEW could actually get involved.
That makes the timing of their eventual contracts even more interesting. Kofi previously revealed that he and Creed weren’t officially signed to AEW until less than 24 hours before All In, so things apparently moved pretty quickly once they were legally free to negotiate.
Since arriving, Kofi and Creed have also made it clear that AEW offered them more than another place to wrestle. Speaking on Inside the Ring, Creed said the freedom to continue building his presence in gaming was a major benefit of the move.
“The ability to do stuff in that space in the way that I want to do it, knowing that I will be the one reaping the fruits of my labor as that tree grows, and possibly being able to bring other people in the locker room into that to bear that fruit as well.”
Kofi revealed that those outside opportunities were actually discussed while their contracts were being negotiated. He described their AEW deals as particularly wrestler-friendly when it comes to pursuing projects away from the ring.
“There’s a lot of things in there that are very, I guess, player-friendly, right? Like wrestler-friendly, you know, in terms of being able to go out and do what it is that you want to do.”
The New Level may have gotten their AEW contracts done at the last possible minute before All In, but these clearly aren’t short-term deals thrown together for one big appearance. With five-year contracts in place and Swerve helping open the door in the first place, AEW appears to have had much bigger plans for Kofi and Creed from the start.
What do you think about Kofi and Austin Creed making a long-term commitment to AEW? Let us know in the comments below.
