Last night, when the clock struck midnight on the west coast, there was a special edition of the Being The Elite podcast where Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) and Adam Page announced the formation of a brand-new wrestling company known as All Elite Wrestling. The company is being funded by Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan.
Details are not abundant at the present time; however, they did announce their first show under the new banner called Double or Nothing. Information about the show will be presented on January 8. This show is a follow-up to last year’s All In event that Cody and The Young Bucks funded themselves. The All In event sold out the Sears Center and had 10,000 fans on hand, proving that independent wrestling can sell out large venues. All In was not under the All Elite Wrestling banner at the time but is seemingly being counted in the company’s “history.”
Contracts for talent (which have not been announced) are said to be multi-year deals. While there is no television deal yet, there were hints that multiple offers have been made. Prior to this, there were heavy rumors that both Jim Ross and Chris Jericho would also be lending their talent and/or finances to the company; however, at this time, there is zero indication that either have done so. Chris Jericho has teased involvement with the promotion on Instagram; however, Jericho has been known to work his fans before.
The formation of All Elite Wrestling isn’t expected to interfere with their responsibilities to New Japan Pro Wrestling. At this time, there is no word whether a working relationship between the two promotions will happen; however, with NJPW wanting more U.S. exposure and their involvement with All In, it’s a good possibility the two companies will partner on occasion.
You can check out the official announcement via the special episode of Being The Elite below: