PCO may be Ring of Honor's World Champion, but there could have been a scenario where he could have potentially signed with AEW.
Before AEW, there was the All In show back in 2018 that was organized by several current AEW executives like Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks. PCO was present in Chicago for All In, but did not actively participate in the show as he was booked for a Chikara show. Regardless, PCO was present in Chicago doing what he called a strength demonstration with Destro which he said got really over with people, but then had to fly back to the Chikara show.
PCO revealed that there were some discussions about potentially signing with All Elite Wrestling, but once he signed with ROH, he said there was no way he would allow himself to go back on his word. PCO added that ROH showed a lot of interest in signing him and had him tour ROH offices, dojo and met with COO Joe Koff.
"There were a few discussions. I think I could have been part of AEW. At the end of the day, I have committed myself to Ring of Honor. They have been really professional with me. I've never seen anything like that, maybe the first time I got signed by WWE it was cool, but it wasn't as cool as the way [ROH] showed me they wanted to sign PCO. I was invited to the office. They showed me the dojo, showed me Sinclair, met with Joe Koff and Delirious and met with everybody at the office. We discussed the deal. Once we shook hands, it was hard to go back on a commitment. I'm the type of guy that if I commit myself to a goal or tell them, 'Yeah I'm going to be on your show,' I respect my word," PCO told Chris Van Vliet.
After joining ROH, PCO went on to join Villain Enterprises, capturing the World Six-Man and Tag Team Championships. Back in December 2019 at the Final Battle show, PCO defeated Rush to win the ROH World Championship.
The full interview between PCO and Van Vliet can be seen in the video at the top of the page.
