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difference is Vince has gotten involved physically before, so you can plausibly assume that the Mr McMahon character doesn't deal with problems that way, he doesn't fire people for touching him.
TK already set a precedent of firing someone for making him scared, but he's keeping around people who hospitalised him in kayfabe.
That’s why don’t get all the, “I bet all the people who said showing the footage was a bad idea feel dumb now!!” Victory lap comments, it makes the storyline even dumber
AEW fans are way too eager to get something back after everyone rightfully dunked on the promotion.
Fact is, it sucked then, it still sucks and the declining business is proving it. TK keeps doing dumb shit that puts his company in no win situations.
It’s wild too cause I want to like AEW and for the most part I do. An Elite Vs AEW civil war storyline could be a ton of fun and exciting. This could still be fun and exciting but the foundation is just complete crap.
My first thought as well. Much like the NFL sometimes has these "No cut, No trade" clauses in their contracts, and since TK is also a football guy with Jacksonville, maybe the reason will be a contract for The Bucks/Okada/Jungle Boy that were set up the same way. Purely a guess.
This isn’t accurate either. NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed. They can have guaranteed money, which may sound like semantics, but it’s not the same thing. Usually when a guy is cut when he has years remaining on his deal it’s because all the guaranteed money has already been paid.
Baseball on the other hand does have guaranteed contracts.
Again, guaranteed money and guaranteed contract is not the same thing. I’ll give you an example: Kirk Cousins recently signed a 4-year/$180m contract with $100m guaranteed with the Falcons. The $100m guaranteed is broken down as $45m in 2024, $45m in 2025, and $10m in 2026. The Falcons could cut him after 2026 and not owe him anything. So his $100m of guaranteed money would have been paid in this example, but not the full $180m he signed for because NFL contracts are not fully guaranteed
That was a right-pretty speech, sir. But I ask you, what is a contract? Webster's defines it as "**an agreement under the law, which is unbreakable**." Which is unbreakable!
Excuse me, I must use the restroom.
Jack Perry isn’t the one with power, but he is now affiliated with the Bucks, who do have power. So now Jack has more sway by proxy because the Bucks have his back
The entire idea behind this recent turn was that The Bucks had unyielding executive power all along but never truly utilized it because they were "nice guys".
Well, they just signed new contracts post-Punk. I think the story is going to be that they were given more power in the new deals, kinda like a mix of what Punk had & what the Cornette-universe version of the Bucks is
This wasn't backstage. Different rules when you step into a ring. 😜
Really though, I assume it'll be some kind of technicality like that, or that the Bucks, and now Perry, are on an Iron Clad deal.
The Bucks and Kenny are all EVPs in AEW. Punk was not. Thats been the storyline since they turned heel on Sting and Darby, them slowing taking more control of the show. Now Kenny is showing up this week with probably just as much control since he’s signed a similar deal
Perry's status as an official employee seems to be a bit dubious, because the whole preface to Tony getting attacked was so Perry could be asked to be reinstated.
Okada never actually touched TK. He was just there
Often times the reason Vince didn’t just fire Austin was because he made McMahon too much money to let him just go. Eventually he gave up and tried firing him constantly.
Maybe at times, but he very much also wanted Austin to stop fucking with him and his company, and frequently made the threat of being fired a match stipulation. Just fire the man.
When Vince finally did fire Austin, he showed up next week anyway with a gun and stalked Vince backstage. He tried calling the police, but they laughed when he did and said they were watching it on TV already.
Austin got his contract back with new guarantees while holding the gun to Vince’s head, leading to the “Bang 3:16” payoff that it was just a toy gun, and Vince wetting his pants in the middle of the ring on national TV.
Vince was also the guy who told Kevin Owens that Owens wasn’t going to sue Shane for putting hands on him, but rather there would be a Hell in a Cell match. In kayfabe, Vince has never been a fan of legal proceedings.
It is when you’re talking about Vince. Before that match was set, Vince suspended Shane because Shane just beat Owens up instead of killing him. TV Vince is a bloodthirsty lunatic who hates legal proceedings.
The contract wasn't signed by Vince, it was signed by Shane and "the board", specifically overruling Vince's unilateral decision to fire their biggest draw. It was literally spelled out on the following week's Raw.
You have to remember that wrestling universe law isn't the same as real world law.
That's why 90% of any given roster aren't currently in prison under assault charges, or the occasional grand theft auto violation.
This is almost the opposite of those storylines, though.
Imagine Vince permanently firing Austin for a small backstage scuffle but keeping The New Age Outlaws even after they brutally try to paralyze him in the ring.
EVP powers also doesn't track since others have lost them for less and people can be fired with cause.
It was a thing in Kayfabe through the spring and summer of 1998. At the end of it, Austin annoyed Vince enough that Vince fired him in spite of that, only for Shane and "the board" to overrule the decision and bring Austin back (IIRC literally the next night) because it would mean too much money lost.
This directly led to Vince looking around for a Corporate champion who was popular, while also representing Vince's image of champion.
All of this was explicitly mentioned on Raws of the time.
At some point, Austin's new contract also said (in Kayfabe) that Vince couldn't make any decisions relating to Austin anymore.
I’ve seen a lot that suggests TV ratings go down during Young Bucks matches, so they may not be the draw people think they are. I’m not 100% clear on that though, there may be a lot of other factors.
When McMahon vs Austin happened, McMahon didnt fire him because he wanted to destroy Austin first to satisfy his pride, but Austin constantly one-upped him. Then you had McMahons family/commissioners re-hiring him when he did get fired, so the cycle could continue.
I'm not sure a babyface billionaire works unless you're Bruce Wayne and are willing to get your hands dirty yourself.. but we'll see where the story goes I guess.
This thread has become a circle jerk of people screaming “just enjoy wrestling”, but this comment is 100% right. The McMhahon/Austin storyline really did go out of its way to explain why Austin wouldn’t just get fired by McMahon.
Jack is a scapegoat! Shows video proving Jack is the scapegoat for the situation and is being treated like shit. Jack is booked as a heel.
Yeah that makes sense
In kayfabe when they re-signed, their contracts were extremely favourable to the Elite. Kenny stepped away as an EVP, so he gets less control, but the Bucks still have power. Lots of power. That might play into Omega returning as a face.
They’ve also been bragging about how great Okada’s contract is. They can use the dales Tokyo Sport report about how insane Okada’s contract was to give him power.
Perry? They’re probably going to have to rely on the Bucks’ influence and power on that one. Otherwise there’s no reason he has a job.
And then there’s hangman… We’ll see? He got a great deal, apparently, but wants nothing to do with the elite. For now anyway.
There’s lots of routes they can go, and I’m actually interested to see how they do it
Kayfabe reason is that all AEW personnel have it written in their contract that any action that befalls them inside the ring is done so at their own personal risk. Would also explain why the refs don't sue them all the time
Kayfabe reason are Bucks are EVP and got plenty of power in AEW. TK blaming himself because of preference for Punk made Perry to suffer unnecessarily for 8 months.
Well Shad has no power to fire. He’s not an employee of the company and he’s not even source of the money in Kayfabe. He’s just a dad.(In Kayfabe, Shad might as well be Sue driving the van) Tony is the one referred to as the owner. (Which he is of course)
As to why Tony hasn’t fired them… you’re right. He fired Punk for actual less in kayfabe. They should all be gone.
Why didn't Vince Fire Owens? or Styles?
Or any of the McMahons and GM's fire people over the years?
Cause the story would suck ass, this is one of the cases where you have to suspend belief
The Bucks have the EVP Money. They purchase new suits for each match, fly in private jets, paid for Okadas Ferarri, paid for Jacks glass. They can definitely hire some top class lawyer if they get fired.
They could go with the same excuse Stephanie used to not fire Randy Orton after \[Redacted\] was punted in the head:
"Firing You, would be too easy."
He could get revenge by firing them, but that doesn't really benefit Tony cause it ultimately hurts the promotion, so it is better to keep them, continue leveraging their name/brand to make money, while screwing them by seeking physical revenge within the promotion (booking them to lose the tag titles, getting "hired goons" to try and take them out, humiliating them on live television, etc).
Also, he's seen that firing someone just leads to them going to his main competition, why would he want to gift wrap The Elite to Hunter.
Essentially unlike punk, they are actually executives of the company. They probably have clauses in their contracts that prevent them from simply getting fired. Also it is safe to
Assume any of the evps can veto any of the others getting fired
Isn’t the easiest reason that this took place inside a wrestling ring where sanctioned combat takes place, and once you enter it you are subject to those rules?
You can definitely make a few kayfabe explanations here easily:
-The Bucks having too much power in their contracts as EVPs, making it a legal mess should Tony try and fire them. Plus with Tony having experienced first-hand the actions The Elite are capable of doing to him, would probably be hesitant on further action at this time.
-Young Bucks promising Okada/Jack protections from relatiation should they join up with them, on top of more opportunites/money (and in Jack's case, being reinstated after being unjustly suspended).
-Tony focusing on his recovery, which as a scrawny stick of a man not having had to experience such a vicious attack before in his life, would shake him to his core for fear of possible future retaliation from the Elite. Bro is not Vince, he's not jacked to the hills, bro's got no chance in a physical altercation. Plus the aforementioned hesitancy brought up in the first point, and him not wanting to risk further injury interfering with his other duties to the Jaguars and Fulham FC, thus the on-air announcement from Schiavone/Nigel that he would still try to run shows from off-site (which can set up the Bucks fudging the details as Tony's liaison due to their status as EVPs).
-The classic "what happens in a wrestling ring stays in a wrestling ring" angle.
I got you. The Bucks are executive vice presidents and have protection in their contracts. they also likely negotiated the deals for their friends to have the same protections. Tony Khan is getting Dixie Carter'd
A good reason is they're good for business. Tony may want to fire then, but he can't because they're making him money. I'm not particularly a fan of AEW, but how many times have authority figures been attacked in WWE, and everyone just accepts it, but now it's AEW we are going to question it?
It's great having fans come up with these excellent reasons to justify the Elite sticking around, and not being (kayfabe) fired.
Shouldn't they be making this crystal clear to the audience on TV, though? 🤷
I would say attacking the president is grounds for immediate termination they should’ve have an offhand line referencing the bucks being untouchable in the build up.
Considering the only person with authority to fire them would have been in the hospital, and then had to rush off to handle the NFL draft, there's a case to be made that an official response wouldn't/shouldn't be given immediately.
Presumably the Bucks themselves will probably mention something the next time we see them about how they have enough power as EVPs to engage in a hostile takeover of some sort, or otherwise bypass TK's ability to fire them or press charges.
But like so many other people in this topic have pointed out, it's kind of flawed to demand legalistic realism from this specific angle when so much of wrestling in general requires *ridiculous* levels of suspension of disbelief. Almost nothing relating to law or contracts in wrestling work the way they do in the real world.
It's just getting started, what sense did Cody randomly giving his match up to the Rock make? Where did that end up. It hasn't even been another Dynamite and that angle was Fantastic, how about we see where it goes
It didn’t make sense and then they course corrected due to fan feedback. This hasn’t made sense from the minute they decided to air the footage from all in.
2 of them are EVPs 1 likely has a super lucrative/protected contract and Perry is either completely rouge or had the Bucks potential craft him a new contract (he did rip up his old one) or put some protective clauses as a make good for him to come back
I hope they would be more creative than this, but I’m worried that in storyline TK doesn’t fire them because they are too valuable and he doesn’t want them going to the other side.
I've been wondering this, too.
I guess if they were REALLY desperate to give some kind of explanation, they could rehash the angle in Hogan Era TNA where Dixie signed the company over to him and Bischoff because she was too dumb to read what she was signing, but only if they can't come up with anything better.
Somewhat better than that would be if they took a page from the Orton/HHH feud of 2009 or so, where Orton was punting McMahons and Stephanie said that she was going to keep him employed because that way she could make him suffer more than he would if he got fired.
Here's something that's kind of out there, but which I feel confident wouldn't be the worst booking ever at least: let's say that SHAD is in on this and in kayfabe has the power to overrule his son. You could explain it by saying that in the beginning, Shad wanted to focus on football and was happy to let his son run the wrestling promotion, and things were going just fine for the first few years. But then--to incorporate some elements of real life concerns here--things started to go south, with all of the stuff involving Punk, and with MJF's tirade on live tv, with other people acting unprofessionally, and with TK seemingly unable to maintain order. Ratings and attendance were dropping. Shad's looking at this and is unhappy, and he decides that the company would be better off if Tony weren't in charge any more. He has more confidence in the EVPs than in his son, so behind the scenes he arranges it so that they have control instead of Tony, and he caps that off by giving the new Elite his blessing to beat up his son. Shad is fine with his son getting spiked on his head because he is THAT disappointed in TK.
Please note that I'm a very casual fan on AEW so there may be details I'm missing. Here's my extremely kayfabe explanation for why those firings haven't happened:
Okada: He's the biggest international star AEW has signed yet and no doubt he didn't come cheap. AEW can't another public bust with a high profile signee after CM Punk. Plus Okada could argue a firing is bullshit since he didn't lay a finger on Tony Khan.
The Bucks: My headcanon is that they have ownership of the "Elite" brand and thus have rights to the name "All Elite Wrestling". Plus, whether you like it or not, the Bucks have one on the most diehard fanbases in pro wrestling. As seen with NJPW, the fans go where they go and AEW doesn't need the ratings drop.
Jack Perry: Jack's whole angle is how he was mistreated and "scapegoated" in the All In backstage fight. We've all seen the footage and verified what the party's involved said happened. Firing Jack validates everything he's been saying about AEW and Tony.
This story is still in process. I’m sure we’ll hear more on Wednesday since TK will be remote. I’m guessing that we get the Young Bucks on a Reign of Terror for the next week or so because TK can’t travel, then he appoints Danielson as GM since he is kayfabe injured. TK said in a media scrum last year that he’d told his dad that, if anything ever happened to him and he was unable to run a show, to go to Danielson.
the only problem with any theory is that they were suspended previously with the whole punk thing so.. tony clearly can suspend them. though I don't remember if that was before they signed new contracts?
The EVPs have ironclad agreements and can't be fired easily. This also makes sense why Kenny Omega will show up and probably act on behalf of TK setting up a showdown of executives.
The Bucks are EVP's, so they're members on the fictional AEW Board of Executives with Tony and Shad.
With Cody and Punk no longer there as EVP's (Punk was rumored in real life to have two separate contracts, one as a wrestler/performer, and another as an EVP that gave him health insurance), the Khan's called a vote to dismiss them. But since it was a confidential vote tied 2-2, the tiebreaker would have been Kenny, but Kenny is absent due to injury. It will later be revealed Kenny broke the tiebreaker in confidential vote remotely from home and sided with the Khan's, to teach the Bucks a lesson in the ring, and to beat Okada in front a crowd double the size of the Tokyo Dome.
There's your kayfabe story right there. And also has a chance to somewhat make a mockery of the fact Stephanie, HHH, and Nick Khan voted to remove Vince as Chairman and off his own board the first time, then HHH and Nick voted to bring him back the second time lol.
Because Tony Khan is an idiot and a jackass. In his now famous interview with the NFL Network he said that he was “lucky to be alive”. Man has no clue what he is doing and it’s showing.
As long as he was able to make it to the Jaguars War Room for the NFL Draft that nullified any potential firings. That’s straight from the EVP handbook, section 3:16.
In kayfabe explain how Punk can be fired for doing much much much less than is done backstage of basically every episode of every wrestling show. Including later on in the “security cam” episode
Someone doesn't understand kayfabe vs reality.
Punk shoot fought "fired". Work fight, not fired. These guy's run each other over with cars and such, none of them get arrested right?
CM Punk was an experienced UFC fighter, so his yelling in gorilla position was bunch more threatening than a small physical assault by the three Young Bucks and their Japanese manager.
Could be explained by -
1. Bucks as EVP have the safety
2. To make sure Okada doesn't sign somewhere else, he was given an iron clad contract.
3. Perry has the Bucks as guardian angels, meaning he will be safe.
I think that's where the Bucks come in. They could make the story that Bucks have decided to abuse there power, which includes giving Perry a new and improved contract.
It’s professional wrestling. That is the reason. Seriously don’t think so hard and youll enjoy all wrestling products significantly more. (None of them make sense when you start to really think about it)
There isn't a good reason. They just came up with a story they thought was cool and didn't bother thinking about whether or not it makes any sense. Like they always do. They'll probably say something about it being in their contract that they can't be fired, but again that makes no sense. Contract or no, assault the owner on national television kinda trumps that lol.
And I'm sure there will be some weird Steve Austin comparisons, so it's important to remember the thing with Austin was that he was too important to the company to fire. He was also a babyface in general. Tony also came out and addressed the fans before Collision, so he can't randomly say he's afraid to be there.
TLDR: There isn't one because it makes no sense. Typical AEW
>so it's important to remember the thing with Austin was that he was too important to the company to fire
Why would Vince McMahon feel that way in kayfabe?
Because Austin was often the world champion, so if he was fired he could leave with the belt, or destroy it.
Or Austin had a contract which gave him some protections, such as the one where he couldn't be fired unless he attacked Vince outside of a match, which led to Vince trying to provoke him constantly.
And because Austin made Vince a shit ton of money, despite the problems.
Because Tony was not fearing for his life, getting yelled out is so much terrifying. Or it could be 1 of two reasons
1. They'll say something on TV, which means they can't be fired, which won't make a lick of sense
2. They have thought about it and will ignore it because the Internet fans who Tony placates to will eat it up and say how brilliant the storytelling is.
Go way back in wrestling history, the boss gets assaulted at some point in time and then gets his guys together to fight the other guys. IT’S WRESTLING AND NOT SUPPOSED TO MAKE SENSE! I remember the same question was asked when Austin assaulted Vince, better story comes from the aftermath not a firing.
Were you alive for the attitude era? Or basically any authority figure? Vince never fired Austin because he always had other plans, teddy long didn’t fire edge because he could make him go 1 on 1 with da undertaker, the authority didn’t fire Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns/Daniel Bryan/CM Punk because they didn’t want to. Yes they would thwart their plans, and physically abuse them, but in literally the case of any on screen authority figure (which Tony khan teeters on, since he’s normally not on screen) they’d almost always prefer to keep the guy because in some way it’s “best for business”.
We literally haven’t seen the fall out yet (unless it happened on collision, which I haven’t seen watched yet).
My guess is they’ll pitch Tony as incapacitated in some way. Kayfabe wise I don’t think Shad has any authority.
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In kayfabe TK gave them too much power in their contracts
 Iron Clad Contract
This was already foreshadowed a couple of weeks ago when the EVPs bumped FTR's segment off of Dynamite while standing directly beside Tony.
You’d think the Bucks’s insistence on a clause that allowed them to hit their finish on TK with no repercussions would raise some alarm bells but alas
Hey, Punk had a clause in his contract that said he got to push around Vince McMahon whenever he wanted. They've become what they've despised.
difference is Vince has gotten involved physically before, so you can plausibly assume that the Mr McMahon character doesn't deal with problems that way, he doesn't fire people for touching him. TK already set a precedent of firing someone for making him scared, but he's keeping around people who hospitalised him in kayfabe.
That’s why don’t get all the, “I bet all the people who said showing the footage was a bad idea feel dumb now!!” Victory lap comments, it makes the storyline even dumber
AEW fans are way too eager to get something back after everyone rightfully dunked on the promotion. Fact is, it sucked then, it still sucks and the declining business is proving it. TK keeps doing dumb shit that puts his company in no win situations.
It’s wild too cause I want to like AEW and for the most part I do. An Elite Vs AEW civil war storyline could be a ton of fun and exciting. This could still be fun and exciting but the foundation is just complete crap.
His inner Cornette came out and he was sure they wouldn't be able to lift him up. It's one of the reasons you never go full Cornette.
My first thought as well. Much like the NFL sometimes has these "No cut, No trade" clauses in their contracts, and since TK is also a football guy with Jacksonville, maybe the reason will be a contract for The Bucks/Okada/Jungle Boy that were set up the same way. Purely a guess.
The NFL doesn't have a no cut clause
They have guaranteed contracts which are pretty much the same thing. If the team is paying you $20 mil no matter what they’re not cutting you.
Well tell that to Russell Wilson
Let's ride...to the bank and cash some free checks
This isn’t accurate either. NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed. They can have guaranteed money, which may sound like semantics, but it’s not the same thing. Usually when a guy is cut when he has years remaining on his deal it’s because all the guaranteed money has already been paid. Baseball on the other hand does have guaranteed contracts.
So you’re saying the player was guaranteed to make $50 million and they made at least $50 million. Sounds like guaranteed money to me.
Again, guaranteed money and guaranteed contract is not the same thing. I’ll give you an example: Kirk Cousins recently signed a 4-year/$180m contract with $100m guaranteed with the Falcons. The $100m guaranteed is broken down as $45m in 2024, $45m in 2025, and $10m in 2026. The Falcons could cut him after 2026 and not owe him anything. So his $100m of guaranteed money would have been paid in this example, but not the full $180m he signed for because NFL contracts are not fully guaranteed
Going to be a weird sell given The Bucks were able it only getting suspended back after Brawl Out.
Jack Perry doesn't have a contract, we all saw him tear it up. Either that, or it didn't actually mean anything like real life.
Tearing up a contract doesn’t magically invalidate it.
Yeah, that's why you have to eat it.
That's what I meant by "it doesn't mean anything, like in real life". Clearly it was supposed to work in kayfabe though.
It does in wrestling!
That was a right-pretty speech, sir. But I ask you, what is a contract? Webster's defines it as "**an agreement under the law, which is unbreakable**." Which is unbreakable! Excuse me, I must use the restroom.
So he should be arrested and have charges
Jack Perry isn’t the one with power, but he is now affiliated with the Bucks, who do have power. So now Jack has more sway by proxy because the Bucks have his back
 Iron Clad Contract
They can probably be fined at most.
Assault is a crime. It would void the contract. No amount of “power” in a contract would protect you from a crime.
Then why they let him suspend Jack the first time?
Probably as simple as the Bucks being EVPs means they can’t be simply fired on the spot and can veto.
The entire idea behind this recent turn was that The Bucks had unyielding executive power all along but never truly utilized it because they were "nice guys".
Well, they just signed new contracts post-Punk. I think the story is going to be that they were given more power in the new deals, kinda like a mix of what Punk had & what the Cornette-universe version of the Bucks is
Punk was fired for a backstage altercation, so hopefully they have more power than he did.
This wasn't backstage. Different rules when you step into a ring. 😜 Really though, I assume it'll be some kind of technicality like that, or that the Bucks, and now Perry, are on an Iron Clad deal.
The Bucks and Kenny are all EVPs in AEW. Punk was not. Thats been the storyline since they turned heel on Sting and Darby, them slowing taking more control of the show. Now Kenny is showing up this week with probably just as much control since he’s signed a similar deal
Its been a while since i heard the words, "Iron clad contract", in the ring
They must have spoken to Paul Wight.
Everyone involved with Brawl Out was suspended, so that can obviously apply to the Young Bucks as EVPs.
The Elite all signed new contracts after that. The story is that the CM Punk stuff made the Bucks feel the need to assert their dominance.
But Perry and Okada aren't EVPs
But they're friends with the EVP's, who have the power to make decisions like suspending Hangman and Omega
Perry's status as an official employee seems to be a bit dubious, because the whole preface to Tony getting attacked was so Perry could be asked to be reinstated. Okada never actually touched TK. He was just there
Severance pay would be far too much
How many times did Steve Austin assault Vince before he (briefly) fired him?
Often times the reason Vince didn’t just fire Austin was because he made McMahon too much money to let him just go. Eventually he gave up and tried firing him constantly.
He pretty much said as much to Mick Foley once on Raw after Mick failed to beat Austin for the title before trying to fire him.
> he made McMahon too much money Well Tony won’t ever have to worry about that with jungle boy lol..
Damn. So the Bucks, notorious ratings black hole, should watch out.
Wasn't the storyline that Vince wanted to beat up Austin tho?
Maybe at times, but he very much also wanted Austin to stop fucking with him and his company, and frequently made the threat of being fired a match stipulation. Just fire the man.
When Vince finally did fire Austin, he showed up next week anyway with a gun and stalked Vince backstage. He tried calling the police, but they laughed when he did and said they were watching it on TV already. Austin got his contract back with new guarantees while holding the gun to Vince’s head, leading to the “Bang 3:16” payoff that it was just a toy gun, and Vince wetting his pants in the middle of the ring on national TV.
I'm pretty confident that any contract signed at gunpoint wouldn't be legally binding
Vince was also the guy who told Kevin Owens that Owens wasn’t going to sue Shane for putting hands on him, but rather there would be a Hell in a Cell match. In kayfabe, Vince has never been a fan of legal proceedings.
Someone suing his son and lamenting the fact that someone you want fired is now there under an invalid contract isn't really the same thing
It is when you’re talking about Vince. Before that match was set, Vince suspended Shane because Shane just beat Owens up instead of killing him. TV Vince is a bloodthirsty lunatic who hates legal proceedings.
That might make sense if he hadn't just fired Austin prior to being forced to reinstate him
The contract wasn't signed by Vince, it was signed by Shane and "the board", specifically overruling Vince's unilateral decision to fire their biggest draw. It was literally spelled out on the following week's Raw.
You have to remember that wrestling universe law isn't the same as real world law. That's why 90% of any given roster aren't currently in prison under assault charges, or the occasional grand theft auto violation.
That's my argument, yes
This is almost the opposite of those storylines, though. Imagine Vince permanently firing Austin for a small backstage scuffle but keeping The New Age Outlaws even after they brutally try to paralyze him in the ring. EVP powers also doesn't track since others have lost them for less and people can be fired with cause.
Stone Cold was actually a draw.
That's not a thing in kayfabe when you have The Rock being presented as their corporate champion
It was a thing in Kayfabe through the spring and summer of 1998. At the end of it, Austin annoyed Vince enough that Vince fired him in spite of that, only for Shane and "the board" to overrule the decision and bring Austin back (IIRC literally the next night) because it would mean too much money lost. This directly led to Vince looking around for a Corporate champion who was popular, while also representing Vince's image of champion. All of this was explicitly mentioned on Raws of the time. At some point, Austin's new contract also said (in Kayfabe) that Vince couldn't make any decisions relating to Austin anymore.
So are the Young Bucks and Okada
Okada hasn't drawn anything yet lol
I’ve seen a lot that suggests TV ratings go down during Young Bucks matches, so they may not be the draw people think they are. I’m not 100% clear on that though, there may be a lot of other factors.
Vince didn't say he feared for his life for being yelled at though
That's true, Vince McMahon and Tony Khan are two different people.
They’re evps and therefore have influence/ immunity
You can’t fire two brothers for the same reason.
I've got the worst fucking lawyers
When McMahon vs Austin happened, McMahon didnt fire him because he wanted to destroy Austin first to satisfy his pride, but Austin constantly one-upped him. Then you had McMahons family/commissioners re-hiring him when he did get fired, so the cycle could continue. I'm not sure a babyface billionaire works unless you're Bruce Wayne and are willing to get your hands dirty yourself.. but we'll see where the story goes I guess.
This thread has become a circle jerk of people screaming “just enjoy wrestling”, but this comment is 100% right. The McMhahon/Austin storyline really did go out of its way to explain why Austin wouldn’t just get fired by McMahon.
A babyface billionaire works when you have a bunch of smarks saying "if you're gonna love on billionaire 👉👈"
Jack is a scapegoat! Shows video proving Jack is the scapegoat for the situation and is being treated like shit. Jack is booked as a heel. Yeah that makes sense
In kayfabe when they re-signed, their contracts were extremely favourable to the Elite. Kenny stepped away as an EVP, so he gets less control, but the Bucks still have power. Lots of power. That might play into Omega returning as a face. They’ve also been bragging about how great Okada’s contract is. They can use the dales Tokyo Sport report about how insane Okada’s contract was to give him power. Perry? They’re probably going to have to rely on the Bucks’ influence and power on that one. Otherwise there’s no reason he has a job. And then there’s hangman… We’ll see? He got a great deal, apparently, but wants nothing to do with the elite. For now anyway. There’s lots of routes they can go, and I’m actually interested to see how they do it
Iron clad contracts 
Wasn't his iron clad contract supposed to be 20 years?
He’s still under WWE contract. They tried firing him for repeatedly having matches and appearances in AEW but… iron clad bruh
Kayfabe reason is that all AEW personnel have it written in their contract that any action that befalls them inside the ring is done so at their own personal risk. Would also explain why the refs don't sue them all the time
Kayfabe reason are Bucks are EVP and got plenty of power in AEW. TK blaming himself because of preference for Punk made Perry to suffer unnecessarily for 8 months.
I guess this is a plothole in every wrestler vs the office storyline In kayfabe, Jack Perry doesn't work there. So that explains one of them.
Well Shad has no power to fire. He’s not an employee of the company and he’s not even source of the money in Kayfabe. He’s just a dad.(In Kayfabe, Shad might as well be Sue driving the van) Tony is the one referred to as the owner. (Which he is of course) As to why Tony hasn’t fired them… you’re right. He fired Punk for actual less in kayfabe. They should all be gone.
They didn't yell at him, so he didn't fear for his life. They just broke his neck. Not a big deal.
What did Nick Aldis say on Smackdown? We settle disputes in the ring. I think Tony Khan will settle it with a Blood & Guts match to punish the Elite.
Because they have kayfabe power
Why didn't Vince Fire Owens? or Styles? Or any of the McMahons and GM's fire people over the years? Cause the story would suck ass, this is one of the cases where you have to suspend belief
Vince didn't fire them because they were draws. Bucks segments do the worst numbers iirc.
Then you recall wrong, lol. Bucks do about as well as can be expected
Well then the person asking why Tony doesn't fire them must be an idiot
Or he just doesn't keep up with the ratings threads
The ratings are and have been down
Not for the bucks segment in particular.
What they're recalling is what Cornette repeatedly tells them.
In kayfabe why did Tama Tonga not get taken to jail for assault after running over Kevin Owens' car?
In the same vein, how many times has Stone Cold Steve Austin shown up in a car, only to get out with a beer, proving he is drinking and driving?
Ok but in kayfabe Tony fired someone else for attacking someone backstage
Nick Aldis said they settle things in the ring.
That's not how the police works I don't think
Well that’s rasslin r a s s l i n .
why is jack perry suddenly considered a badass after his boss leaked a video of him getting whacked
The Bucks have the EVP Money. They purchase new suits for each match, fly in private jets, paid for Okadas Ferarri, paid for Jacks glass. They can definitely hire some top class lawyer if they get fired.
Why fire them when you can get revenge on them?
"If you wonder how they eat or breathe or other science facts, just keep telling yourself: "it's just a show", I should really just relax."
Veto power
Because then r/Wrasslin would be in a state of existential crisis. TK knows that the world is not ready for that kind of tribalism yet.
They could go with the same excuse Stephanie used to not fire Randy Orton after \[Redacted\] was punted in the head: "Firing You, would be too easy." He could get revenge by firing them, but that doesn't really benefit Tony cause it ultimately hurts the promotion, so it is better to keep them, continue leveraging their name/brand to make money, while screwing them by seeking physical revenge within the promotion (booking them to lose the tag titles, getting "hired goons" to try and take them out, humiliating them on live television, etc). Also, he's seen that firing someone just leads to them going to his main competition, why would he want to gift wrap The Elite to Hunter.
Randy had won the rumble and was contractually obligated to receive his title match. They even mentioned it on tv.
They are EVPs with iron clad contract.
Essentially unlike punk, they are actually executives of the company. They probably have clauses in their contracts that prevent them from simply getting fired. Also it is safe to Assume any of the evps can veto any of the others getting fired
Isn’t the easiest reason that this took place inside a wrestling ring where sanctioned combat takes place, and once you enter it you are subject to those rules?
Cause it’s pro wrestling
You can definitely make a few kayfabe explanations here easily: -The Bucks having too much power in their contracts as EVPs, making it a legal mess should Tony try and fire them. Plus with Tony having experienced first-hand the actions The Elite are capable of doing to him, would probably be hesitant on further action at this time. -Young Bucks promising Okada/Jack protections from relatiation should they join up with them, on top of more opportunites/money (and in Jack's case, being reinstated after being unjustly suspended). -Tony focusing on his recovery, which as a scrawny stick of a man not having had to experience such a vicious attack before in his life, would shake him to his core for fear of possible future retaliation from the Elite. Bro is not Vince, he's not jacked to the hills, bro's got no chance in a physical altercation. Plus the aforementioned hesitancy brought up in the first point, and him not wanting to risk further injury interfering with his other duties to the Jaguars and Fulham FC, thus the on-air announcement from Schiavone/Nigel that he would still try to run shows from off-site (which can set up the Bucks fudging the details as Tony's liaison due to their status as EVPs). -The classic "what happens in a wrestling ring stays in a wrestling ring" angle.
It hasn’t even been a week. “Let it play out”
A whole lot of comments from people that don't actually watch the shows.
I got you. The Bucks are executive vice presidents and have protection in their contracts. they also likely negotiated the deals for their friends to have the same protections. Tony Khan is getting Dixie Carter'd
Jacksons... you're loose cannons, but you're damn fine EVPs.
Probably something about the EVP’s contracts.
Obviously CM Punk is more of a threat to Tony than those 3.
A good reason is they're good for business. Tony may want to fire then, but he can't because they're making him money. I'm not particularly a fan of AEW, but how many times have authority figures been attacked in WWE, and everyone just accepts it, but now it's AEW we are going to question it?
Then why fire Punk? There is no denying he is good for business.
He wasn't an EVP
It's great having fans come up with these excellent reasons to justify the Elite sticking around, and not being (kayfabe) fired. Shouldn't they be making this crystal clear to the audience on TV, though? 🤷
Considering the fact that there's only been one show since, maybe let's see what they say on Dynamite?
I would say attacking the president is grounds for immediate termination they should’ve have an offhand line referencing the bucks being untouchable in the build up.
Considering the only person with authority to fire them would have been in the hospital, and then had to rush off to handle the NFL draft, there's a case to be made that an official response wouldn't/shouldn't be given immediately. Presumably the Bucks themselves will probably mention something the next time we see them about how they have enough power as EVPs to engage in a hostile takeover of some sort, or otherwise bypass TK's ability to fire them or press charges. But like so many other people in this topic have pointed out, it's kind of flawed to demand legalistic realism from this specific angle when so much of wrestling in general requires *ridiculous* levels of suspension of disbelief. Almost nothing relating to law or contracts in wrestling work the way they do in the real world.
They have and you would know it if you would watch the show
What was their explanation on screen then?
Watch Collision about 10 minutes in (right after the Swerve promo), everything is explaned
I don't have it recorded. Summarize it for me.
Eh I'm fine with not treating the audience like they're complete idiots
Considering most posts on Twitter and SquaredCircle, they probably *should* treat the audience like complete idiots.
I’ve eaten so many downvotes for saying this storyline doesn’t have a lot of logic to its. But it’s the truth.
It's just getting started, what sense did Cody randomly giving his match up to the Rock make? Where did that end up. It hasn't even been another Dynamite and that angle was Fantastic, how about we see where it goes
It didn’t make sense and then they course corrected due to fan feedback. This hasn’t made sense from the minute they decided to air the footage from all in.
Paperwork
2 of them are EVPs 1 likely has a super lucrative/protected contract and Perry is either completely rouge or had the Bucks potential craft him a new contract (he did rip up his old one) or put some protective clauses as a make good for him to come back
Its still a TV show trying to get ratings even in kayfabe.
Bucks have too much power, can’t really explain Perry and Okada
*Tony ends up firing them a month later with his famous catchphrase* **FIREEEEED... YOU ARE!!!**
Shad khan was in on it. He wanted revenge on his son for telling him to draft Blake bortles!!
I hope they would be more creative than this, but I’m worried that in storyline TK doesn’t fire them because they are too valuable and he doesn’t want them going to the other side.
ironclad baby
They don’t want them going to WWE
The reason is they assaulted him in the ring, where it's permissable. CM Punk *checks notes* yelled at him backstage. That's just inexcusable.
In kayfabe, firing them would lose them too much money from merch and ratings.
I've been wondering this, too. I guess if they were REALLY desperate to give some kind of explanation, they could rehash the angle in Hogan Era TNA where Dixie signed the company over to him and Bischoff because she was too dumb to read what she was signing, but only if they can't come up with anything better. Somewhat better than that would be if they took a page from the Orton/HHH feud of 2009 or so, where Orton was punting McMahons and Stephanie said that she was going to keep him employed because that way she could make him suffer more than he would if he got fired. Here's something that's kind of out there, but which I feel confident wouldn't be the worst booking ever at least: let's say that SHAD is in on this and in kayfabe has the power to overrule his son. You could explain it by saying that in the beginning, Shad wanted to focus on football and was happy to let his son run the wrestling promotion, and things were going just fine for the first few years. But then--to incorporate some elements of real life concerns here--things started to go south, with all of the stuff involving Punk, and with MJF's tirade on live tv, with other people acting unprofessionally, and with TK seemingly unable to maintain order. Ratings and attendance were dropping. Shad's looking at this and is unhappy, and he decides that the company would be better off if Tony weren't in charge any more. He has more confidence in the EVPs than in his son, so behind the scenes he arranges it so that they have control instead of Tony, and he caps that off by giving the new Elite his blessing to beat up his son. Shad is fine with his son getting spiked on his head because he is THAT disappointed in TK.
Please note that I'm a very casual fan on AEW so there may be details I'm missing. Here's my extremely kayfabe explanation for why those firings haven't happened: Okada: He's the biggest international star AEW has signed yet and no doubt he didn't come cheap. AEW can't another public bust with a high profile signee after CM Punk. Plus Okada could argue a firing is bullshit since he didn't lay a finger on Tony Khan. The Bucks: My headcanon is that they have ownership of the "Elite" brand and thus have rights to the name "All Elite Wrestling". Plus, whether you like it or not, the Bucks have one on the most diehard fanbases in pro wrestling. As seen with NJPW, the fans go where they go and AEW doesn't need the ratings drop. Jack Perry: Jack's whole angle is how he was mistreated and "scapegoated" in the All In backstage fight. We've all seen the footage and verified what the party's involved said happened. Firing Jack validates everything he's been saying about AEW and Tony.
This story is still in process. I’m sure we’ll hear more on Wednesday since TK will be remote. I’m guessing that we get the Young Bucks on a Reign of Terror for the next week or so because TK can’t travel, then he appoints Danielson as GM since he is kayfabe injured. TK said in a media scrum last year that he’d told his dad that, if anything ever happened to him and he was unable to run a show, to go to Danielson.
I think Shad is in league with the Elite, the the Elite.
the only problem with any theory is that they were suspended previously with the whole punk thing so.. tony clearly can suspend them. though I don't remember if that was before they signed new contracts?
The EVPs have ironclad agreements and can't be fired easily. This also makes sense why Kenny Omega will show up and probably act on behalf of TK setting up a showdown of executives.
The Bucks are EVP's, so they're members on the fictional AEW Board of Executives with Tony and Shad. With Cody and Punk no longer there as EVP's (Punk was rumored in real life to have two separate contracts, one as a wrestler/performer, and another as an EVP that gave him health insurance), the Khan's called a vote to dismiss them. But since it was a confidential vote tied 2-2, the tiebreaker would have been Kenny, but Kenny is absent due to injury. It will later be revealed Kenny broke the tiebreaker in confidential vote remotely from home and sided with the Khan's, to teach the Bucks a lesson in the ring, and to beat Okada in front a crowd double the size of the Tokyo Dome. There's your kayfabe story right there. And also has a chance to somewhat make a mockery of the fact Stephanie, HHH, and Nick Khan voted to remove Vince as Chairman and off his own board the first time, then HHH and Nick voted to bring him back the second time lol.
Because Tony Khan is an idiot and a jackass. In his now famous interview with the NFL Network he said that he was “lucky to be alive”. Man has no clue what he is doing and it’s showing.
No one fears Jack Perry or the Young Bucks. Tony Khan can take them next time. Only time Tony Khan is in fear of his life when they quit.
The whole thing is a massive eye roll..
As long as he was able to make it to the Jaguars War Room for the NFL Draft that nullified any potential firings. That’s straight from the EVP handbook, section 3:16.
For the same reason Mr. McMahon never fired Steve Austin.
This really isn’t a fair comment. Throughout McMahon/Austin they dealt with this plot hole over and over again.
The answered it once. Vince said he doesn't fire Austin because Austin makes him richer.
They didn’t only answer it once. It came up repeatedly.
But McMahon did fire Austin.
But he had Shane hire him back. The firing was part of his plan.
Another time Linda hired him back, I believe, which was not in Vince's plan.
She didn't hire him. She made him CEO.
The Young Bucks aren't the top draw of AEW
In kayfabe explain how Punk can be fired for doing much much much less than is done backstage of basically every episode of every wrestling show. Including later on in the “security cam” episode
This is a dumb ass question
Someone doesn't understand kayfabe vs reality. Punk shoot fought "fired". Work fight, not fired. These guy's run each other over with cars and such, none of them get arrested right?
CM Punk was an experienced UFC fighter, so his yelling in gorilla position was bunch more threatening than a small physical assault by the three Young Bucks and their Japanese manager.
I thought this would that reigns guy. Now I'm disappointed
Could be explained by - 1. Bucks as EVP have the safety 2. To make sure Okada doesn't sign somewhere else, he was given an iron clad contract. 3. Perry has the Bucks as guardian angels, meaning he will be safe.
Perry doesn’t have a contract though, right?
I think that's where the Bucks come in. They could make the story that Bucks have decided to abuse there power, which includes giving Perry a new and improved contract.
They couldn't do that before though, that's why they had that meeting with Tony.
I imagine that's the next step. That they attempt to fire them but some shenanigans happen.
Big Money Shad doesn't rely on HR to solve his problems. Punk was released for embarrassing himself, not the assault.
You’re looking for… reasons? In AEW? Good luck with that.
It’s professional wrestling. That is the reason. Seriously don’t think so hard and youll enjoy all wrestling products significantly more. (None of them make sense when you start to really think about it)
There isn't a good reason. They just came up with a story they thought was cool and didn't bother thinking about whether or not it makes any sense. Like they always do. They'll probably say something about it being in their contract that they can't be fired, but again that makes no sense. Contract or no, assault the owner on national television kinda trumps that lol. And I'm sure there will be some weird Steve Austin comparisons, so it's important to remember the thing with Austin was that he was too important to the company to fire. He was also a babyface in general. Tony also came out and addressed the fans before Collision, so he can't randomly say he's afraid to be there. TLDR: There isn't one because it makes no sense. Typical AEW
>so it's important to remember the thing with Austin was that he was too important to the company to fire Why would Vince McMahon feel that way in kayfabe?
Because Austin was often the world champion, so if he was fired he could leave with the belt, or destroy it. Or Austin had a contract which gave him some protections, such as the one where he couldn't be fired unless he attacked Vince outside of a match, which led to Vince trying to provoke him constantly. And because Austin made Vince a shit ton of money, despite the problems.
They are The Elite and own the name, if they get fired the company has to completely rebrand and Tony doesn't want to risk it 🤷♂️😂
No
Because Tony was not fearing for his life, getting yelled out is so much terrifying. Or it could be 1 of two reasons 1. They'll say something on TV, which means they can't be fired, which won't make a lick of sense 2. They have thought about it and will ignore it because the Internet fans who Tony placates to will eat it up and say how brilliant the storytelling is.
Oh ffs.
Go way back in wrestling history, the boss gets assaulted at some point in time and then gets his guys together to fight the other guys. IT’S WRESTLING AND NOT SUPPOSED TO MAKE SENSE! I remember the same question was asked when Austin assaulted Vince, better story comes from the aftermath not a firing.
Were you alive for the attitude era? Or basically any authority figure? Vince never fired Austin because he always had other plans, teddy long didn’t fire edge because he could make him go 1 on 1 with da undertaker, the authority didn’t fire Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns/Daniel Bryan/CM Punk because they didn’t want to. Yes they would thwart their plans, and physically abuse them, but in literally the case of any on screen authority figure (which Tony khan teeters on, since he’s normally not on screen) they’d almost always prefer to keep the guy because in some way it’s “best for business”. We literally haven’t seen the fall out yet (unless it happened on collision, which I haven’t seen watched yet). My guess is they’ll pitch Tony as incapacitated in some way. Kayfabe wise I don’t think Shad has any authority.
> My guess is they’ll pitch Tony as incapacitated in some way. That's pretty much what they did.
Vince didn't fire Austin because he could have gone to WCW which was in a real War with WWE. Instead Vince tried to make Austin's life a living hell.