When Cody Rhodes announced AEW had signed Red Velvet on AEW Unrestricted, he went on to reveal a lot more.
When Aubrey Edwards confirmed her signing and mentioned that would be breaking news, Cody then asked her if she was on an “agreed to appear” and mentioned contract tiers. Co-host of the podcast Tony Schiavone asked Rhodes to clarify the contract tiers, and Cody went on to explain.
“‘Agreed to appear’ is tier zero, meaning you will get a bonus, and Tony is super generous. If you ask some of these extras what they’re making down there…my dad would’ve lost it. It’s the COVID era, they have no other work because there are no Indies. Tier zero is a signing bonus and exclusivity to us in terms of, we get a first option on you and we guarantee you X amount of dates. The exclusivity is case by case. The goal is, you don’t want to pay someone who has agreed to appear and keep giving them their weekly versus tier one, which is our base contract agreement. We have tier one, two, three, four, and tier Jericho. Everyone is given a choice of things that are important to them, different pieces of the pie.”
Cody added that AEW Games was a piece of the pie and Aubrey’s work in that division. And while AEW has often used independent talent on AEW Dark, it hasn’t always meant they have a tier-one contract. If a talent gets an “all elite” graphic” on their social media, it seems to confirm their tier-one deal.
h/t to Fightful for the transcription.
Check out our official store at PRO WRESTLING TEES, show us your support and buy a shirt. You can visit our store by clicking here.
Make sure to follow us on Twitter @BodySlamNet and on Instagram @BodySlamDotNet
Also check us out on Facebook and give us a like and share by clicking HERE.
