Former Impact World Champion Brian Cage made his long awaited debut for All Elite Wrestling at tonight’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view in Jacksonville, FL. SoCalUncensored.com had first reported the news that Cage would be joining in AEW back in January.
Cage made his debut for the promotion when he appeared as a mystery entrant in the Casino Ladder Match. He was the last entrant out of nine wrestlers in the match which, also included Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky, Orange Cassidy, Colt Cabana, Darby Allin, Joey Janela, Luchasaurus, and Kip Sabian. Cage went on to win the match and earned a shot at the AEW World Championship.
Cage agreed to join AEW in January as his Impact contracted expired at the end of 2019, but suffered a bicep injury that required surgery, taking him out of action for the past four months.
With his pedigree, Cage would have to be considered one of the top free agents to hit the market recently. After beginning his in-ring career in 2004 in Sacramento, Cage has wrestled for Impact, AAA, Lucha Underground, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, among others. In 2019 he was ranked 48th on the Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 and was nominated for the Southern California Wrestler of the Year Award for the second consecutive year.
Cage reportedly also received offers from Impact to stay and an offer to go to Ring of Honor but decided to go with AEW.
It is fitting that Cage made his debut at Double or Nothing, as he almost appeared in the first Casino Battle Royale at 2019’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 25, 2019, but was prevented from appearing by Impact’s Don Callis, who didn’t feel it was in their best interest to have their World Champion lose in a pre-show battle royal.
On April 28, 2019, Cage defeated Johnny Impact to win the Impact World Heavyweight Championship. His championship reign lasted 180 days before losing to Sami Callihan on October 25, 2019.
