Tony Khan said he opened negotiations with The New Level a couple of days after the pair’s 90-day non-compete clauses expired.
Speaking at the post-All In media scrum, the AEW CEO said he waited before making contact with Austin Creed and Kofi, who left WWE following WrestleMania 42.
“I was very careful. Of course, when I saw The New Level were going to be potential free agents, I want to play it safe for the sake of all three of us; me, them, and the company, to do things the right way. After their 90 days were up, and only after the 90 days had expired, I gave it an extra day or two to be safe. I engaged with their representatives, and it was clear there was interest,” Khan said.
Khan said the signing was not something he had planned or budgeted for, and that he built the tag team and trios picture heading into All In so there would be a spot if a deal came together.
“It was a great audible. This was a great call. There is no way I could’ve planned for it because never in a million years would I have ever thought Austin and Kofi would be free agents,” Khan said.
Creed and Kofi debuted at All In as Swerve Strickland’s partners in the wild card team for the AEW World Trios Title Roulette Royale, winning the match. They defend the titles against The Rascalz on the post-All In edition of Dynamite.
