Fuego Del Sol shared details about his contract while he was still working for AEW.
Fuego Del Sol was set to [storyline] earn a contract with AEW if he beat Miro on the August 13, 2021 episode of Rampage. Miro won the match, but Tony Khan still awarded him the contract and made him ‘Elite’ anyway.
The Alabama-born Luchador was ultimately released by AEW in July 2022, as the company elected not to renew his contract.
Fuego outlined some of the terms of his contract on his YouTube channel. He noted that he originally signed his contract in 2021. He said it was a four-year deal, then clarified that it was a guaranteed year with three optional years attached.
“It was to a four-year deal, potentially. I guess it was a one-year deal with three optional years. AEW had the option to renew me each year around July or August and let me know if I was going to be with the company another year. And if they did [pick up the option], I would get a raise in my salary.”
Fuego says the first year started off well, but he eventually started being used on television less frequently. He said he had a conversation with Tony Khan and asked how to get more opportunities. Khan highlighted some of the programs he’d been part of so far.
“He said, ‘Just because I’m not using you every week doesn’t mean I don’t value you.’ And while all that was a nice sentiment, it wasn’t really a solution to the problems that I felt like I was having.”
Future Endeavored
A few months after that conversation, he broke his foot in five places at an independent event. When he was close to returning, he says multiple people in AEW messaged him and asked for time to talk. Fuego says he knew he was either getting a new contract, or he was getting let go.
Fuego joined a call with AEW legal team members and Tony Schiavone, who delivered the news he was being let go. He wanted Schiavone to let Tony Khan, who was not on the call, know that he was thankful for his tenure and that he’d show them the star he could be.
Fuego personally announced he was leaving AEW as his contract was expiring on June 22, 2023. He was cleared to wrestle and he began taking bookings the following week. Since then, he has appeared for GCW and AAW, among other independent promotions.
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