Brian Cage Clarifies Circumstances Around His AEW – Impact Negotiations
In an interview with Insight with Chris Van Vliet, AEW and Ring of Honor star Brian Cage talked about signing with AEW in 2020.
Cage was reported to have signed with AEW in January of that year, right when his Impact Wrestling contract was about to expire, but as Cage tells it now, that was not the case.
"A lot of people wanted me, a lot of people were interested in me," Cage said. "There were a lot of verbal offers, but obviously nothing actually offered or signed. And it couldn't have been anyway, because contractually and legally-wise, I couldn't. So I tore my bicep the day before Hard to Kill, where I'm supposed to work RVD, which was under my current contract, my last match with Impact.
"Monday, I was supposed to become a free agent and I could sign wherever I wanted. And I already decided, 'okay, I'm probably going to go with AEW.' Then the bicep went and I was like, 'no!' And Impact was supposed to hand me a contract in person, like an updated one from what they had already tried to offer me.
"They said, 'we're going to offer you one in person. Take it home, look it over, re-sign it, or whatever.' And I was like, 'okay. I'll still look. Maybe I'll sign it, who knows.' So I get there and I tell them what happened with my arm. They're not opposed to trying to keep me and they work around it for the match. Right after my match with RVD, I come back and it's weird. The vibe was so weird.
"The place was so chill at Impact, but now everyone's looking at me weird. It's so quiet and awkward. I go, 'what's going on?' I sit down, I pick up my phone, I look at it, and it's just blowing up. 'Brian Cage signs to AEW.' I was like, 'you have got to be kidding me.'"
Following that, Brian Cage's biggest fear was that he could lose out on a contract with either Impact or AEW, due to the leak of news and his injury. Fortunately for him, both companies still made him an offer, and according to Cage, AEW owner Tony Khan personally assured him the AEW's offer would not be rescinded.
"My worry was, now this contract they had in person, they didn't give me," Cage said. "They said, 'we'll just email you it later.' My fear now was if Impact still wants to sign me, because now I'm injured, I'm damaged goods. If Impact wants to sign me and AEW doesn't want to sign me, cool, because I can still sign with Impact. Now Impact thinks I'm signed with AEW, they're probably pissed off.
"I don't know if they'll take legal action, or maybe they don't want to sign me now. But I didn't really sign with AEW, and now maybe AEW isn't going to sign me either. So now I'm thinking, 'great, now I'm nowhere without a job and injured because some freakin' dirt sheet wants to get some clickbait.' So yeah, I was furious. Luckily enough, Impact still ended up sending an offer to me.
"And Tony (Khan) reached out to me as well. He's like, 'don't worry. I'm sure you're worried we're going to rescind the offer. But we still want you here. We still have faith in you.' He even offered to have me go see his doctor to do the surgery. But with certain tendon injuries, you have to get them repaired within a certain amount of time or it's too late. But yeah; I was super thankful for him and how he handled with. As well as Impact, too. Kudos to both those companies."
As for who leaked reports he had signed with AEW, Brian Cage doesn't know. He did admit to telling a few friends, but doesn't know whether they leaked the info, nor is he asking.
"There was nothing for me to leak as I hadn't signed anywhere," Cage said. "Now there were obviously multiple friends that were close to me that I had said stuff to, that I had talked to about different options. Did they say something to somebody? I don't know. Of course, if I had asked, they'd have said no, because they're going to say no."
Recently, Brian Cage started working for Ring of Honor following Tony Khan's purchase of the promotion. Cage joined Tully Blanchard Enterprises at Supercard of Honor along with the Gates of Agony tag team, consisting of Kaun and Toa Liona. Ultimately though, Cage hopes to continue working for both brands.
"I know there's a lot of talk and rumors about Ring of Honor and what's going to happen. There's a lot of stuff I know, and there's a lot of stuff I don't know," Cage said. "There's a lot of stuff a lot of people don't know. But it does look like hopefully, we'll be doing both at the same time, and I'll be part of both. I'm never one to turn down work.
"That's why I'm one of the most working AEW contracted guys as far as working on the independents and taking all this extra stuff. I love this business and I love to go out there and have amazing matches. That's usually what I do, too. Now when I take an indie booking, it's not for an extra payday. No, I want an awesome, fun match where I can go out there and shine. That's one of my addictions and high. That's my drug, you know?
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription