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Brian Cage made his well-received AEW debut in the Casino Ladder Match in 2020 and walked away as the victor. Cage quickly aligned himself with Taz, and the star enjoyed a decent early run.
Today, rumors of Cage's departure spring up often as the star last appeared on AEW TV on October 6, 2021. Regardless of when he last appeared, The Machine's contract got extended earlier this year.
During an interview with the Going Broadway Podcast, Cage said his initial AEW debut plans were set for 2019. According to Cage, he was to appear at the original Double or Nothing PPV while still being the IMPACT Champion:
“I was supposed to be in the original Double or Nothing, in the battle royal as IMPACT World Champion. IMPACT pulled me off two hours before the show started because I was losing. Even people in the matches didn’t know. When I showed up there, it was going to be this awesome surprise pop and I felt like IMPACT had the most to gain from it, and then they threw a fit because I was losing.”
According to Brian Cage, IMPACT Wrestling threatened to sue him if he appeared on AEW while being the champion
On the same podcast, Brian Cage spoke about how when he initially toyed around with the idea of going against IMPACT's wishes, they threatened legal action against him:
"I went through it all, so contractually, I should've been able and been allowed to do it. I was looking at it, but they literally threatened to try and, like, sue me if I did and told me not to."
Cage got eventually dissuaded by Billy Gunn and Tommy Dreamer, who told the star to wait it out:
"I remember Tommy Dreamer and Billy Gunn pulled me aside and they’re like, ‘Look, management sucks. I know you’re in a bad position but,' he’s, like, 'You’re too talented, too good to be locked in this kind of position where, if you do this, it’s probably better just to bite the bullet, not do the match, and then, you know, just go about it.'" (H/T: Wrestling Inc.)
Hopefully, Brian Cage returns to AEW soon as his fellow AEW stars have begun to miss him.
