Brian Cage Reveals The Scrapped Original Plans For His AEW Debut

Brian Cage has revealed the scrapped original plans for his AEW debut and why they fell apart.

Appearing on the Going Broadway Podcast, Brian Cage discussed his current All Elite Wrestling run, upcoming plans for his return and scrapped original plans for him.

In speaking about original plans for his AEW debut, Cage said:

“I was supposed to be in the original Double or Nothing, in the battle royal as Impact World Champion. And IMPACT pulled me off two hours before the show started because I was losing.”

Cage continued on that Cody Rhodes expressed concerns over him as IMPACT World Champion beating AEW contracted talent and talked about how the original plans were for him to be dominant in the match:

“They had me eliminating Joey (Janela), both [members of] Private Party, Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy. Like, I was going through the whole roster. I was going through everybody and it was going to come down to me and (Hangman Adam) Page at the end and then Page was gonna, you know, eliminate me obviously, to go on to face (Chris) Jericho. So and I thought, I was like, stoked and all this looks great, and if anything, IMPACT had the most to gain because I’d be IMPACT World Champion.

“It’d be a big surprise. Nobody, even people in the matches didn’t know. Like when I showed up there, and so it was going to be this awesome surprise pop and I felt like IMPACT had the most to gain from it and then they threw a fit because I was losing. Because I was their world champion, but I was losing. But like, yeah, but I’m not getting beat. I’m just getting thrown over the top rope.”

Cage also recalled a last-minute effort to get permission from IMPACT as well as his complicated contract situation at the time:

“I know like Kenny (Omega) and Jericho reached out to Don because Don, you know, was cool with them,” Cage recalled. “And they, I think, made him an offer of like sending Page to IMPACT and have me beat Page over there to kind of get the win back. But they didn’t really believe that was going to happen and it was a big debacle.”

“Contractually, on my contract work with IMPACT, it was still through Lucha Underground, much like Penta (El Zero Miedo) and (Rey) Fenix, which were both on that show. So, and I went through it all, so contractually, I should have been able and been allowed to do it. And I was looking at it, but they literally threatened to try and like sue me if I did and told me not to. And then I’m looking through it, I’m like, ‘You know what? It’s not going to go anywhere.’ And maybe we wouldn’t even really done it, but I don’t know.

“At the end of the day, I remember Tommy Dreamer and Billy Gunn pulled me aside and they’re like, ‘Look, management sucks. I know you’re in a bad position, but he’s just like, ‘You’re too talented, too good to be locked in this kind of position where if you do this, and say IMPACT does try to sue you and/or AEW, now you’re going to have two companies that you just basically pissed off, you know, over this.’ And he goes, kind of like, ‘Not that you’re going to burn any bridges, but it’s probably better just to bite the bullet, not do the match, and then you know, just go about it.’

“So, that’s what ended up happening, and then I told, you know like I said like, just like, two hours before the show the match was going to happen, I’m like, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ And I was super bummed, super apologetic. But everybody was like, a lot of them were very apologetic back to me, you know? Tony and Hangman and everybody else.”

As previously mentioned, Brian Cage recently had his one-year option with AEW picked up and stated that there are plans in place for his return.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

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• Scrapped plans
• Brian cage
• Debut
• AEW

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