Former AEW star Alan Angels was a recent guest on Talk Is Jericho to discuss his departure from the company earlier this year, and whether he think going to WWE would be a suitable option. Angels explains that he turned down AEW’s per appearance deal they offered him once his contract expired, citing the perception the company had of him as the primary reason he decided to go. Highlights from the interview are below.
How AEW offered him a per appearance deal after his contract expired which he turned down:
“I was told they weren’t going to renew my contract about 45 days before it was up, and basically they just weren’t going to give me the same deal, they were gonna give me a per appearance deal, if I wanted it. I figured that maybe had reached the limit of where I could get here right now, at this run in my career, so young, I came into AEW virtually a nobody, I wrestled maybe three years, doing the Southeast circuit. I got signed at 22. So I’ve grown, I’ve built up a little bit of a following on the internet and stuff like that, but I feel like there was a perception of me, and I know a lot of people hate this word, but I was kind of like the jobber of the Dark Order, the bottom guy of the Dark Order, and I feel like when fans build up that perception of you, I think it’s kind of hard to change that, if that makes sense. Once they get that, there’s no changing it, unless gradually you build up, build up, build up, but I feel like in AEW, that would have taken a really long time.”
Says he does think about going to WWE but doesn’t know if he would fit in:
“I think about it sometimes. I don’t know if I’m their cup of tea right now, but then I also see that they are bringing back some indie guys into the NXT scene, so it’s something I’ve kind of thought about but I’ve never really seriously considered it. You never know.”
(H/T and transcribed by 411 Mania)
