In the beginning, there were four AEW Executive Vice Presidents: Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega. Once Rhodes jumped ship for WWE, that left three, and if you are to believe AAA’s booker, Konnan, it sounds like there were recently nearly only two left.
In an exclusive interview with Haus of Wrestling, available now for free on our podcast feed, Konnan discussed how AAA’s latest TripleMania main event, featuring El Hijo de Vikingo putting his AAA Mega Championship on the line against three top stars, came about.
“Originally we were going to bring in Omega but he was still negotiating with AEW and he wasn’t sure if he was going to stay or not,” Konnan began. “So, we couldn’t commit, and he didn’t want to come here until he signed. So, that was out the window, boom. And then, after that, we asked for a couple of people from AEW and they weren’t available.
“Then we got another guy who was hurt, and, basically, what we got, was Swerve. Which I don’t have a problem with because he may not have the name value as other people but he’s an incredible wrestler, I worked with him in Lucha Underground and Ricochet had actually recommended him to me. I think the match will be great because Rich Swann is great. You’ve got one guy from AEW, one guy from Impact, and then you’ve got Komander.”
Omega’s AEW contract status has been the subject of much discussion. Fightful reported back in February that some in the company believed Omega’s deal could have been up towards the end of 2022 and that he may be working without a contract. This report was denied by other sources with whom they spoke, saying there was no way Omega’s deal was up so soon.
There was additional speculation that Omega’s contract could be extended beyond its original end date, due to time away from the ring with injury. The Wrestling Observer has reported that Omega was suffering from knee, shoulder, and abdominal injuries, including a hernia.
Fightful has confirmed that the option to extend Omega’s time with AEW due to “substantial injury” was in his contract, which is reportedly standard for AEW. The most recent on-the-record example of an AEW contract extension is Jon Moxley, who had time added beyond his initial agreement while receiving treatment at Desert Hope Treatment Center, as per a conversation he had with his wife, Renee Paquette, on her podcast.
With all of that in mind, I asked the LWO legend if he knew whether or not he thought the AEW EVP had officially re-signed with AEW or not.
“I’m assuming,” he stated. “I never really asked him but there are plans for him in the future so I’m thinking he already signed. But, you know, he wasn’t sure if he was going to stay and WWE was talking to him. You know? So, we couldn’t get him to commit.”
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