There was a report where Tony Khan - CEO of All Elite Wrestling - said in an interview that he doesn’t know how many people were contacted by WWE but talent in AEW was contacted.

There was another report saying that AEW’s Chief Legal Officer Megha — the ONLY lawyer that does double duty for The Jacksonville Jaguars and All Elite Wrestling — sent an email to Nick Khan / Triple H of WWE to do not contact AEW talent.

However, this is what we know:

Keith Lee mentioned on the AEW Unrestricted Podcast that Tony Khan contacted him within 3 days of WWE releasing him.
When WWE releases a wrestler, they either have a 30- or 90-day clause. In this case with Keith Lee, he had a 90-day clause. These clauses in the contracts restrict you from quickly getting book or work with an indie company or another big company. After the clause is up, you can be contacted by anyone.
Jeff Hardy decided to walk away from a house show match in WWE. It was caught on tape. People thought he was under the influence. Jeff Hardy has a long history with alcohol and drug use. After that incident, WWE decided to let him go. Not long after WWE released Jeff Hardy, a fan finds Jeff Hardy in the same restaurant he’s at and asks for a quick interview. The fan asks Jeff Hardy the one simple question: Are you going to AEW? Jeff Hardy replies with: That’s the plan. I hope so.
Adam Cole revealed that he still talks with Triple H even though he’s currently working in All Elite Wrestling. Adam Cole had a fantastic run in WWE NXT with Undisputed Era and left on good terms after deciding to not re-sign. Cole and Triple H have small talk from time to time.

What is contract tampering?

Simply put is when someone talks to you either buy out your contract or convince you to break your contract to leave one job or another job.

However! Wrestling contracts are all different. What I have in my contract may not be the same for someone else’s contract. And wrestling barley ever plays by the rules. There are “rules” in wrestling, but it doesn’t really get followed. Contract tampering is different in wrestling.

The only successful “contract tampering” is when WWE brought out WCW back in the day and Vince McMahon had enough money just to buy out enough contracts to start the Invasion Angle on Monday Night Raw. All the big-time names such as Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Goldberg, Sting, and more sat at home getting checks from Ted Turner — the owner of WCW at the time.

Contract Tampering? AEW vs WWE 42:59 Share

Squared Circle Podcast

Shownotes Transcript

Contract Tampering? AEW vs WWE