Chris Jericho and Joey Janela are among the big names joining Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks.
Dan Gartland | Jan 10, 2019
America’s newest major wrestling promotion is beginning to take shape.
All Elite Wrestling held a public rally and press conference in Jacksonville on Jan. 8 to give more details about the nascent company and made a big splash by hiring several of the biggest names in wrestling.
Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC owner Shad Khan is the primary investor in AEW and his son Tony is the company’s president. Cody Rhodes and Matt and Nick Jackson are executive vice presidents. Rhodes’s wife Brandi is chief brand officer.
AEW was born from “All In,” the unprecedented show organized by Rhodes and the Jackson brothers in September 2018. The promotion’s first event will be called “Double or Nothing” and take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 25, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. A second show is slated for Jacksonville at a date to be determined.
The company announced about a dozen hires at the Jacksonville rally, ranging from top indie stars to former WWE performers. AEW also revealed it has partnered with Shanghai-based Oriental Wrestling Entertainment to bring multiple OWE wrestlers to AEW. More signings have trickled out in the weeks since, with another big batch of announcements coming at a second rally in Las Vegas. AEW also announced a partnership with renowned Mexican lucha libre promotion AAA.
A full list of performers signed to AEW is below.
Male wrestlers
• Jimmy Havoc
• Cody Rhodes
• The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)
• Chris Jericho
• Kenny Omega
• “Hangman” Adam Page
• Christopher Daniels
• Frankie Kazarian
• Scorpio Sky
• Joey Janela
• Maxwell Jacob Friedman
• PAC (formerly known as Neville in WWE)
• Cima
• El Lindaman
• T-Hawk
• Takehiro Yamamura
• Jungle Boy (son of actor Luke Perry)
• Pentagon
• Fenix
• Jimmy Havoc
• Chuck Taylor
• Trent Baretta
• Sammy Guevara
• Sonny Kiss
• Kip Sabian
• Brandon Cutler
Female wrestlers
• Brandi Rhodes
• Britt Baker
• Penelope Ford
• Aja Kong
• Yuka Sakazaki
• Kylie Rae
• Bea Priestley
This post will be updated as AEW continues to make personnel moves.