Christian Cage Explains What Led Him To Joining AEW, Says ‘It Was A Done Deal’ Within A Week
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Christian Cage is Elite now and he details how it all happened.
Christian was this week’s guest on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette and spoke about his arrival in AEW and how the whole thing came together. Starting out the call, Cage noted that he wasn’t nervous when he did the Royal Rumble, and that came after a seven-year in-ring absence. He said with AEW, he was nervous and wasn’t sure what to chalk it up to other than he was in a new environment.
Christian compared his AEW arrival to being the ‘new kid in class’ and said it was this hyped-up announcement, noting that the pandemic isn’t ideal times, it was cool to still have real fans there. In regards to the Paul Wight segment on Dynamite that hyped up a ‘Hall Of Fame worthy’ signing, Cage said he had no idea it was going to be hyped that much.
“I didn’t know. As far as I knew at that point in time, it was going to be a complete secret. I was just going to show up and it was going to be a surprise, I didn’t realize it was going to be [the huge announcement]. I’m being 100% honest, on Wednesday, there was nothing signed. It was a shock to me when I heard it,” Cage explained, “and obviously, Tony and I hit it off pretty quick and we felt comfortable enough that we definitely going to get something done and work together.”
Christian says he saw a concussion specialist in June and ‘crushed’ all of his tests, and the doctor said he wasn’t crazy and he could make a comeback. While the doctors cleared him, WWE clearing him was another hurdle. He had some talks with Vince McMahon about his health and Vince was supportive, but he still had more work to do.
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During his post-show media scrum on Sunday, Tony mentioned how they’d become friends over the years, and Christian confirmed they’d met in Boston. Despite being friendly over the years, they hadn’t really talked wrestling, with Khan even noting at one point that Christian’s Rumble appearance made him kick himself for not having him on the roster. Even though he returned at the WWE Royal Rumble, Christian explained why he was open to joining All Elite Wrestling. Asked if he would have thought in January he’d be working in AEW, he said no, but commented on what led him to his decision.
“No, I would not think that at all, to be honest with you. It all happened really quick. I wasn’t sure I was going to go after, and all the talks I had were very cordial [with WWE]. I’m good friends with you, I’m good friends with Jon, and he talked to me and had his opinions and it made me kinda think, ‘OK, maybe I am doing myself a disservice if I don’t at least explore all my options.’ And, at this final stage of my career, I ended up having a conversation with Tony and it just escalated very quickly. It went very fast. Within a week, it was a done deal.”
Christian did confirm his contract is a long-term deal but didn’t reveal what that included, only noting that ‘I’m not here for just a couple matches.’ He once again said that things came together rather quickly and that they shared the same feelings as far as what Christian could do in AEW.
When asked about the decision to leave WWE, Christian agreed that it was a difficult one to make, but he felt like AEW was the right choice because he could help a lot of people there.
“Whenever there’s some sort of decision like that, a life-altering decision, there is a lot of thought that goes into it. Obviously, I didn’t have a lot of time to think about this, but it was like, what I really needed was the best platform for me to— like I said, I got a second lease on life here with this to be able to showcase that and help. ‘Where could I help the next generation?’ That’s what I felt here at AEW,” Christian said.
Christian said there was something intriguing to him about that situation and he enjoys a good challenge. He said there’s nothing wrong with the way WWE does things, and while joining AEW wasn’t an easy decision to make, it wasn’t a hard one, either.
“There was something intriguing about being able to be a little more hands-on with everything and having that challenge as well. It just felt like the right situation.”
If you use any portion of this transcript, credit WrestleZone and link back to this post.
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