For the first time since WCW died, wrestlers feel like they have a real option to make more money outside of WWE and wrestlers are paying attention to what All Elite Wrestling is doing.
Details about Chris Jericho’s contract leaked backstage in WWE last week and it opened a lot of eyes. “Last week it went around WWE locker room the Jericho $ amount, it was a huge shock,” Dave Meltzer said on the Wrestling Observer Forum.
Meltzer went into a little more detail on Wrestling Observer Radio:
“One of the things that happened, I was actually told this a couple of days ago. Jericho’s contract number went around the WWE locker room and a lot of people were stunned, freaked, depending on your viewpoint.”
He continued, “It wouldn’t be a John Cena number and it’s not a Brock Lesnar number and I don’t think it’s a Ronda Rousey number [or] maybe it is. I don’t know but it’s a pretty high number. It’s one of the higher numbers. It would be near the top in WWE. [Wrestlers are] all of a sudden like ‘woah.’ Something out there is real.”
It’s not a coincidence that so many wrestlers have expressed unhappiness with WWE and have asked for their release. It looks like AEW is willing to spend money when necessary to get some big names on board, which is another sign that indicates they have a good paying TV deal lined up.
As noted earlier, Chris Jericho is hoping to get a match with Brock Lesnar in AEW. Click here for more on that story.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Wrestling Observer website with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription
