All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is bringing variety to the world of televised wrestling. The company has been established for about three years now and boasts wrestling legends. Five of AEW’s stars — Britt Baker, reigning champ Jade Cargill, CM Punk, Darby Allin, and Orange Cassidy — spoke with Emily Aslanian in the TV Insider and TV Guide Magazine studio, sponsored by Hollywood unBranded at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, sharing why they love working for the franchise so much.
“I’m so proud of the company that we’ve grown with,” says Baker, the first female wrestler signed to AEW. “Now, it’s a company where people like CM Punk are coming out of retirement, and Chris Jericho, and Jon Moxley, and Bryan Danielson. It’s buzzing right now, and it’s booming! I feel really special to be part of the ride from the day one.”
The AEW franchise features shows such as AEW: Rampage and AEW: Dynamite.
“It’s raw and uncut. It doesn’t get any better than this,” chimes in Cargill, her championship belt slung over her shoulder. “We have world-class athletes and wrestlers that are part of this company. Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of something new? We’re gonna beat the odds. We’ve been beating the odds. We’re one of the best.”
Cargill is the first-ever AEW TBS champion. She defeated Ruby Soho during an AEW Dynamite tournament in January 2022. And she’s parading her championship belt around SDCC to “elevate the women’s division and to make us all shine.” As for Punk, the main appeal of AEW was giving fans and wrestlers more options than they’ve had for decades.
“I think pro-wrestling hasn’t been properly represented on television for 20 or 30 years,” he said. “I think it’s better for every industry if there’s options. If there was one movie studio or one television studio with one writer and one director, you wouldn’t have a variety of interesting things to watch. When there’s more companies, there’s more wrestling on television, it’s better for the wrestlers, it’s better for the fans.”
Allin says he values the “creative freedom” the company allows, saying, “Ain’t nobody gonna allow me to do what I do outside of the ring like they do in AEW.” And Cassidy simply says, “They’re good.”
Learn who the wrestlers dream about throwing down in the ring with in the full video interview, above.
AEW Dynamite, Wednesdays, 8/7c, TBS
AEW Rampage, Fridays, 10/9c, TNT
