Tony Khan says Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed landing in AEW wasn’t some deal that had been secretly lined up since their WWE departure. In fact, Khan says he never expected them to become free agents at all and didn’t even have their signings planned or budgeted.
Kingston and Creed debuted as The New Level at All In, immediately joining Swerve Strickland and winning the AEW World Trios Championships. During the post-All In media scrum, Khan was asked when conversations with the former WWE stars actually began. Khan said he deliberately waited until their 90-day period had completely expired before making any contact with their representatives.
“I was very careful, and when I saw The New Level was going to be potential free agents, first of all, I wanted to play it safe and, for the sake of all three of us, do things the right way. After their 90 days were up, and only after that expired—and I gave it a day or two to be safe—I engaged with their representatives.”
Even then, Khan says their AEW arrival was far from guaranteed. Signing Kingston and Creed wasn’t something AEW had previously planned for financially because Khan simply hadn’t expected the opportunity to exist.
“It was clear there was interest, but it was a very interesting situation. AEW really, I believe, is where the best wrestlers are, and these two wrestlers fit us. But it wasn’t something I had planned or budgeted for. It is not the kind of thing you can negotiate in five seconds. It wasn’t a done deal the first second they had gotten released or were able to go out and look elsewhere.”
With All In approaching, Khan started preparing the tag team and trios divisions in case the two sides managed to reach a deal. He described their eventual debut as an “audible” rather than something AEW had mapped out months beforehand.
“The whole situation was a big surprise for me. But I tried to create an environment for them. Knowing we had this huge PPV event, I tried to build up the tag team and trios scene so if such a deal were to be made, we could do something special. And it was a great audible. This was a great call. There was no way I could have planned for it.”
The biggest surprise for Khan was simply seeing Kingston and Creed available in the first place. After their lengthy WWE runs, he admitted that he never imagined he would have the chance to sign them.
“Never in a million years would I ever have thought Austin and Kofi would be free agents. It’s unthinkable. When they were free agents, I had to go with it with an open mind. We’re all in business, and I knew it, and I couldn’t assume we’d get it done. I was very pleased while I was in the UK that we figured it out and made it happen.”
Kingston and Creed parted ways with WWE in May, and their AEW future clearly wasn’t already waiting for them when that happened. Khan’s version of events is that he waited until they were completely free to negotiate, saw an opportunity he never expected to have, and managed to get the deal finished in time for one of the biggest surprises at Wembley. That last-minute call worked out pretty well since the New Level went from an AEW signing Khan never budgeted for to champions on their very first night.
What do you think of Tony Khan revealing how unexpectedly Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed’s AEW deals came together? Let us know in the comments.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
