Update on Jake Atlas' AEW Status Following Arrest
Jake Atlas was arrested and charged with domestic battery back in late May, and at the time it was unclear what his status with AEW was. After initially retiring from pro wrestling, Atlas arrived in AEW in late 2021 and was seemingly signed to a contract when Tony Khan tweeted out a graphic stating Atlas was "#AllElite," which typically confirms a wrestler has signed a full-time contract with the company. Unfortunately, Atlas suffered a torn ACL in a match with Adam Cole shortly after his signing, resulting in him being pulled from AEW programming. It was pointed out shortly after his arrest that Atlas had seemingly never been added to AEW's official roster on its website.
Fightful Select dropped a new report on Tuesday that clarified the situation. Sean Ross Sapp wrote that, despite the "#AllElite" graphic, Atlas had only signed a per-appearance deal with the promotion. Said deal was paused during his injury and eventually lapsed, meaning he had no connection with the company anymore. It was also noted that he's not expected to return to the promotion following his arrest.
I was told this morning that Jake Atlas was on a per appearance deal and hasn't technically been with the company in months. https://t.co/IZNVGUuHpt
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) June 14, 2022
Atlas explained his initial decision to depart from wrestling back in September. He wrote on Twitter at the time, "I'm not concussed or 'banged up.' I simply just can't keep going anymore. Take your mental health seriously, both for yourselves & for each other, because we only have one life to live. Thank you to anyone who did support me for 5 years. I didn't do much, but what I did was fun. I'm stepping away from wrestling completely right now so please don't ask me to do interviews/appearances. I'd like my privacy to be respected. At 26 years old, I've got my entire life ahead of me & I'm choosing to explore completely different industries to find my passion again. Unfortunately, it was unhealthy for me the entire time. I just learned how to hide it really well. I hope that friends & fans I've made alike continue to support me no matter what. I have major anxiety just having done that, please be sensitive. Thank you."