Big Update on Kenny Omega's AEW Contract Status

The countdown to Kenny Omega's All Elite Wrestling return is underway. The "Best Bout Machine" has been out of action since last November's AEW Full Gear, where he lost his AEW World Championship to Hangman Page. While Omega did not suffered any specific injuries in that match, he had been working through multiple stingers in the months leading up and would require time off once he dropped the title. Omega underwent knee surgery this past March and has been going through "really painful rehab" every day since that has made the former Bullet Club leader contemplate retirement. Despite the setbacks, Omega is nearing his in-ring return, with many expecting him to reunite with the Young Bucks in the AEW Trios Titles tournament.

Even if Omega makes it back for the Young Bucks' trios tournament match next week, he might not be active for the long run. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently reported that Omega signed a four-year deal with AEW in February 2019, meaning his current contract expires in roughly six months. The Observer noted that due to Omega's time on the shelf, AEW reserves the contractual right to extend his contract for an additional nine months.

While there have yet to be any notable uses of this contract clause in AEW, WWE have utilized the injury extension with its superstars numerous times before. WWE froze Rey Mysterio's contract in May 2014 as it was about to expire, and extended it by nearly a year due to the time that the luchador spent away from the ring with an injury. 

The most infamous example of this clause came with Bryan Danielson, who found himself in a Catch-22 in February 2016. When "The American Dragon" was forced to retire, former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon refused to release him from his contract and extended it due to the time Danielson missed. Since WWE wouldn't clear Danielson, he was indefinitely unable to fulfill the missed in-ring time.

"Vince McMahon told [Danielson] he wouldn't release him. Worse, he couldn't even sit patiently by, let his injuries heal, get in shape, and wait for his contract to expire," Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter said. "The WWE in its contracts has the right that if a wrestler is injured for a considerable length of time, that they can freeze the time frame of his or her contract. The time left on the contract doesn't start rolling until they are ready to work in the ring and fulfill it as an active wrestler.

"Danielson's time left on his contract was frozen until he could return," Meltzer continued. "But, the ice age would never end, since he could never be cleared to return and fulfill that time left. He would get paid his downside guarantee until the company made the decision to fire him."

Fortunately for Danielson, his seemingly lifetime contract would get an expiration date of September 1st, 2018. The former WWE Champion would heavily tease a Ring of Honor World Title bout with then-champion Cody Rhodes in late 2017, before ultimately sticking around with WWE as the company cleared him to compete in early 2018. Danielson would then depart in Summer 2021 and join AEW, where his debut match coincidentally came against Omega at AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam.

If Omega's injury clause is executed, his AEW stay could be extended until the end of 2023. That, or the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion could sign a new deal entirely to keep him with the company for even longer.

Until then, Omega is expected to make his long-awaited return next week on AEW Dynamite.