Brett Lauder says he doesn't know what the policy for AEW talent working independent shows is.
AEW talent used to somewhat regularly appear on GCW shows, and Jon Moxley even held the GCW World Championship. GCW's relationship with AEW has been unclear since Moxley signed a contract extension with AEW in 2022 that limited his ability to work independent dates. Moxley then dropped the GCW World Championship. AEW talent continues to compete on other independent shows, but they have not been as active with GCW. In November 2022, Lauderdale said that he didn't think GCW's relationship with AEW was dead, and he was grateful for what they had.
Speaking with Lavie Margolin and John Poz on The Business of the Business, GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale was asked whether he has sensed any changes in the availability of AEW talent on the independent scene.
“As far as AEW talent goes, and AEW’s policy, I still to this day don’t know what it is. It seems to be ever changing, but also it never changes. So I think everybody’s still literally on a case-by-case basis. There are certain talent in AEW that can kind of call their shots and do what they want, and there are others that aren’t in a position to do that. I guess some people have to ask for permission, some people don’t, some people are supposed to but don’t, and then do it anyways. I don’t know. The policy…I just don’t know. Nobody from AEW has ever said anything to me. So it’s the same deal for us. We know what we hear, but we hear something one day, and then the next day it’s another deal. So I really don’t know and I can’t speak on that because everybody that’s tried to speak on this in the past has been wrong. I know that DEFY has a certain special relationship with AEW, and there’s reasons behind that. But I do know, it does seem like there’s been a slight tempering down in the number of AEW talent out there, but then at the same time, I’m seeing new guys making the rounds, big names. So again, who knows? I don’t know what the deal is," Lauderdale said.
Jon Moxley made a one-off return to GCW for Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 9 in March 2023.
Lauderdale previously commented on Jon Moxley's contract extension. Click here to see what he had to say.
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