After signing a new contract with All Elite Wrestling, The Elite’s Matt Jackson had a big claim to make about the groups standing in AEW.
There had been talk of the four superstars moving to WWE in recent month. After CM Punk’s return to AEW, there was some thought that they’d rather leave than share a locker room with him.
This came after a backstage fight between the two parties left all the men suspended, and stripped of their respective titles.
However, that seems to have blown over. After being kept apart from Punk, the four men seemed keen to remain at their posts as Executive Vice-Presidents of AEW.
Speaking with Sports Illustrative following the announcement, Matt Jackson made a bold claim about his (and his friends) position in the company.
The two-time AEW Tag Team Champion (alongside his brother Nick in “The Young Bucks”) claimed that The Elite are “the main characters” of AEW, and that they are part of the company’s “DNA”.
“We’re literally the ‘E’ in AEW,” says Matt Jackson.
“The Elite are the main characters of this company. No matter how different AEW is now from its original inception, we are the DNA. “
“And if you lose the foundation of your home, it eventually collapses. It’d be a lie if I said that didn’t weigh on us, when making the decision.”
Nick Jackson also admitted that it was the schedule that stopped them from signing for the WWE, preferring the easier AEW schedule that lets them spend more time with their family.
“If we’re going to be honest the schedule was a huge part of it,” says Nick Jackson. “I have a wife and three young children and seeing them as much as possible was a big factor. I’m not going to lie, the money was a huge factor, too.
“At this point of my life and career, I just couldn’t see myself being on the road half of the year or even more than that. I have so much respect for the guys and girls that are able to do that year after year. We for sure could’ve made memories in WWE, but what’s more important to me is making memories with my family. With the position we’re in, I’ll be able to do that and still make memories in AEW.”