Tony Khan apparently isn’t interested in swinging the axe on AEW’s crowded roster. He may just let a whole bunch of contracts quietly run out instead.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez said he’s been given the impression that a lot of AEW deals aren’t going to be renewed, but Khan isn’t necessarily going to release those wrestlers early either. According to Alvarez, that comes down partly to Khan simply not liking the uncomfortable part of cutting people.
“Tony Khan doesn’t like to play the bad guy, so he doesn’t like to cut people. He just pays them to do nothing for months and months on end.”
That means some wrestlers could remain under AEW contract, barely appear on television and continue getting paid until their deals naturally reach the finish line. Then they’re simply gone.
“I’ve been given the impression that there are a lot of AEW contracts he’s not gonna cut, but they are just going to quietly expire, probably like a lot of people.”
The interesting part is what happens when enough of those contracts start running out. There could eventually be a pretty big wave of wrestlers hitting the market, although it apparently isn’t expected to happen overnight. Alvarez gave a window stretching anywhere from six months to 18 months.
“And there’s gonna come a time, maybe in six months, a year, or 18 months down the road, where there’s gonna be a lot of people available.”
Suddenly, that creates a very different wrestling landscape. Instead of AEW announcing a giant batch of releases, talent could quietly trickle out as contracts expire until enough recognizable names are sitting on the open market to make things interesting.
That could also give the independent scene a serious shot in the arm—or potentially create an opening for somebody else to see all that available talent and try something bigger.
“Then either the indies are gonna blow up again, or someone’s gonna come along and see what they can do.”
So there may never be one dramatic day where AEW suddenly guts its roster. Khan can keep paying wrestlers until their contracts end, let the deals quietly expire and avoid cutting anyone at all. Give it six to 18 months, though, and the wrestling free-agent market could look very different.
Which AEW stars do you think could be among those whose contracts are allowed to quietly expire? Let us know in the comments below.
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