Kofi and Austin Creed, now with AEW, have finally discussed their decision to leave WWE in May after more than a decade with the company.
In an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Kofi confirmed that WWE’s offer involved an even larger pay cut than the 50% figure previously reported.
“I will say, it was more than 50%. It was more.”
Kofi made clear that money wasn’t the only factor, though. The former WWE Champion said he and Creed felt the new terms didn’t match the value and experience they could still bring to the table, and that they wanted to keep wrestling on a regular basis.
The comments line up with reports published by the Wrestling Observer in May. At the time, it was reported that Kofi and Creed’s contracts had not yet expired, but WWE wanted to restructure them under new TKO terms.
Dave Meltzer added at the time that the proposal called for less money and a gradual pullback from in-ring work, with both being used more in promotional roles.
Creed got the call about the renegotiation while watching his son’s football game. Kofi was told during his son’s birthday. After talking it over, both realized almost immediately that staying under those conditions didn’t make sense for them.
The move to AEW didn’t happen right away, though. Creed revealed that initial conversations with Tony Khan didn’t start until just a week before All In.