Ahead of last night’s AEW Rampage, the company released an official statement confirming that the current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley has signed a contract extension that will see his deal extended until 2027. Moxley has undoubtably been on the best run of his career as of late, a sentiment echoed by AEW President Tony Khan as he labelled Moxley’s wrestling mind as “invaluable” to the company.
Fightful Select have now provided further insight into Moxley’s new deal with the company, interestingly mentioning that multiple sources, including PWInsider, believe he had been working on a handshake agreement following the expiration of his previous deal, although they were unable to confirm the time frame and overall validity of this suggestion. PWInsider‘s own report on the situation implied that whilst this was the case, there was never any concern internally that he might be looking to go elsewhere.
“Several sources indicated that Jon Moxley had been working at some point without a contract, but Fightful has not confirmed that. However, when we repeatedly asked about his contract status throughout the summer, we were told it was “quite a situation,” and were also told that AEW would do whatever it took to keep him with the company for the rest of his career. It goes without saying that AEW has worked to make a big investment in Moxley.”
-Fightful
PWInsider’s own report following the confirmation of said contract agreement stated that the deal is believed to have been agreed around the time of the All Out PPV in early September, a notion that made the rounds at the time although PWInsider were unable to confirm this until now.
One detail that caught the eye of many was that Moxley is now set to work exclusively for All Elite Wrestling and its international partners, with New Japan Pro Wrestling being one of which that Moxley has a history with as a former two-time IWGP Uniter States Champion. Moxley has worked for a number of independent promotions during his time with AEW thus far, including GCW and Revolver amongst others, and is currently the GCW World Champion, a title he has held for over a year now.
Fightful reported that AEW wouldn’t comment on what this new deal would mean for Moxley’s status with these independent promotions, and additionally noted that GCW weren’t even aware of the press release until it happened, with his status with the company considered to be up in the air amongst GCW officials. Moxley is set to defend his GCW World Championship against Nick Gage later today in a match that will result in Gage’s retirement should he not leave with the gold, and thus today could officially spell the end of the AEW World Champions time working with the independent promotion.
The press release also officially revealed that Moxley’s role would be expending into both coaching and mentoring. Moxley has recently received high praise from the AEW locker room for his involvement in the recent talent meetings alongside Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson, with Fightful stating that the talent they’ve heard from spoke highly of Moxley’s influence and how much weight his words carried.
Moxley has cemented himself as AEW’s Ace since joining the company on May 25th, 2019, and we’re certainly looking forward to seeing what’s in store for the Blackpool Combat Club member over the next five years.
