Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are now with IMPACT Wrestling, but there was a time when their next destination would have been AEW, something many fans expected. That didn’t end up happening, although it was very close to coming to fruition, and in a new conversation with Talk’N Shop, Gallows and Anderson revealed why it didn’t happen and that there was a bit of bad blood afterward. of the deal failing. At the time, Gallows and Anderson were extremely unhappy in WWE and had deals on the table from New Japan, IMPACT, and AEW thanks to long dialogue with The Young bucks (via Fightful).
“We texted the Young Bucks because we heard rumors of things they were doing. We were close to them the whole time, but we hadn’t heard exactly what they were going to do,” Anderson said. “We sat down with the Bucks and talked to them about what they were going to start with, we left and went to the house show, how fucking excited were we? This was 10 months before Dynamite’s debut. They were telling us what we were going to do , and it’s not that we didn’t believe them, it was like ‘damn, is this going to happen?’ As the year progressed, we realized that we really wanted to leave. A large part of us, we were nervous that it would not be on television. It was around July when Triple H joined us in Japan and Hunter called us and He texted daily trying to get us to sign a deal. His price kept going up and Hunter was telling us how much they loved us. “
Gallows and Anderson would meet with The Young Bucks about a possible move to AEW on December 10, 2018, though at the time WWE was also trying to keep them on a lucrative contract.
“We were dancing for a year,” said Gallows. “We walked into Carrano’s office a year before we got up and he said, ‘We have to talk about contracts.’ We went, ‘Oh shit.’ We thought they were going to forget that we had signed because at that time it was during our mountain trip. Russian: “Let’s get this shit together and get away with it.” They were crazy and they knew we were friends with Kenny and the Bucks and we weren’t happy with the way they were using us. This was jumping from WWE to something we didn’t we were sure it was going to happen or not. There is excitement there, but we are professional wrestlers and throughout our careers we have heard of the next big thing: ‘this guy has a lot of money’, ‘this is the next alternative ‘and nine times out of ten, it never comes to fruition. It’s not that we don’t trust our friends, we had all the faith in the world in them, but you’re dealing with big corporations and big companies,’ is this really going to happen ? ‘ Now we are famous on American television, how much will New Japan pay? Is it comparable to these pay days that we have been receiving? Now, it is accumulating this downward guarantee, which in the past was so low, is that so? ? When Triple H says, “I want this to prepare you for the rest of your life,” you’re going to say, “Damn, we’re going to make a few million dollars in a few years,” It’s hard to dance around. It all comes down to to be able to say no to someone who is very charming. “
Things came a long way regarding a deal with AEW, and although a contract had not been signed, AEW was already figuring out how to debut them, and it would have been in Dynamite’s debut episode. The fact that it didn’t happen is one of Anderson’s biggest regrets.
“When June came, I remember the text message from Matt and Nick and they had planned the entire first debut of the Dynamite main event,” said Anderson. “The music from the machine gun hits, I go out, Gallows comes from behind, we are ‘too sweet’ the Young Bucks and Kenny, we turn around, then we beat them up. That’s the end of the first night of [Dynamite]. It is one of the biggest regrets of my life that has not happened. That kills me. We didn’t know if he was going to take off on TNT, but we did know with the guys involved, Young Bucks, Kenny, Chris Jericho, those are guys who are successful and will not fail. We knew that AEW would be successful, we simply succumbed to the amount of money and the promises, fulfilled or not, by WWE. We signed on the idea that it was going to be our last contract and that we would go out and wave the WWE flag as high as we could. “
As things approached their departure date, the Young Bucks wanted to take Anderson and Gallows to a room with AEW owner Tony Khan, but that never happened because the duo signed with WWE.
“AEW was not throwing a radical change at us. It was a really good contract that still affects me,” Anderson said. “IMPACT in 2019 also offered a great deal. Truth be told, more money than some of my friends are making now in WWE. The Bucks prepared us a contract and said, ‘Let’s go in there with Tony. [Khan] and just talk to him. We flew to Japan, agreed with Hunter and shook hands with him. “
That decision led to a bit of bad blood with those at AEW trying to strike the deal, especially since Anderson and Gallows had been so adamant for a while that they were leaving and heading to All Elite.
“For a good six months, we told the Bucks and Kenny that we were going to come, no matter what, because we were ready to go,” Anderson said. “This is where it bothers me a lot that we didn’t bet on ourselves and allowed ourselves to leave because we knew we should have. That’s why I’m so glad that FTR comes out on its own terms and can do it. What they did. There were some resentments because people trusted the Bucks and told other parties that we were coming and we didn’t come. It made them seem like they couldn’t close the deal. “
“There was probably a little bit of internal heat,” Gallows said. “We have friends there, a friend who is in a high-powered position, who said, ‘What the hell, guys?’ I think he’s still a little offended by that. My answer to him, if you ever hear this; none of this was personal. We appreciate the offer and everything we tried to do. It was clearly a business decision. We were looking at a five-year contract. instead of a two-year contract with maybe a one-year option. When you start calculating that money and where are you going to be in five years, especially with ‘you’re going to be here for the full five years and there were plans for you later “It is as if you are stacking millions upon millions against, ultimately, the smallest number. Should we have taken the smallest number and bet on ourselves and been something really cool again as we were in New Japan? F *** YES! Is the egg on our face? It’s running down our face right now. But many people in that situation, when you look at your children and your wife, would say: ‘How do I say no to them when they back off a bank truck in front of the house and drop the load in front of the door. It was not to be harmful or spiteful. It was a business decision to do what we thought was best for our family. “
Hopefully bad blood is a thing of the past as AEW is doing immensely well and Anderson and Gallows have a bright future at IMPACT, and who knows, maybe AEW is still in the cards in the future.
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