Christian Cage mocks TKO pay cuts during AEW Dynamite promo segment

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Christian Cage took a shot at WWE/TKO on Wednesday (September 2) when he referenced reports that the company asked some stars to take 50% pay cuts. Cage dropped the line during a promo on Dynamite, during which he was joined by his tag team partner, Adam Copeland. Both men, of course, had storied careers in WWE before joining AEW. The moment came when Cage and Cope, the reigning AEW World Tag Team Champions, were engaged in a verbal standoff against The Young Bucks and FTR. The segment began with the Bucks stating during an in-ring promo that Cage and Cope cheated to hold on to their belts during their recent bout at All In London. Nick and Matt Jackson then demanded a rematch. Their challenged was interrupted by FTR, another former WWE team, who came to the ring to announce they had returned to reclaim their gold. Soon enough, the champions emerged to address both teams. When Cage took to the mic, he suggested FTR and The Young Bucks might want to work at another company for less money. “I’m surprised that the four of you aren’t more embarrassed. I’m surprised that you’re not so embarrassed that you wouldn’t consider willingly taking a 50% pay cut and going somewhere else,” Christian said, resulting in an audible reaction from the AEW audience. Christian Cage with a shot at TKO and WWE 😭 “I’m surprised you’re not so embarrassed that you wouldn’t consider willingly taking a 50% pay cut.” HOLY SHIT. #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/BQjVb3yOn0 — PW Chronicle (@_PWChronicle) September 3, 2026 Following a massive roster purge at WWE in the spring, reports surfaced that claimed TKO had asked some stars to take a 50% pay cut. Among those reportedly asked were The New Day, who were said to have rejected the offer and requested their release. Kofi and Austin Creed (fka Xavier Woods) made their AEW debut at All In London last weekend as The New Level, and the duo discussed the money talk with WWE management on The Ariel Halwani Show on Tuesday (September 1). According to Kofi, the duo was actually asked to take an even bigger pay decrease than what had been reported. “I don’t know exactly what’s out there. I will say, it was more than 50%, which a lot of people don’t know,” he said to Halwani. As for Cage & Cope, FTR, and The Young Bucks, the segment on Dynamite set up a “Chairs, Tables, and Ladders” match between the three teams at AEW’s All Out pay-per-view on September 26 in Chicago. AEW World Tag Team Champions @RatedRCope & @Christian4Peeps want a 3-Way Match against @YoungBucks & FTR at #AEWAllOut involving chairs, tables and ladders! Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/CoCpnbqHbB — All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 3, 2026 What do you think, Cagesiders? Did you enjoy Christian’s line? Let us know in the comments.

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They’ve now made their AEW PPV and Dynamite debuts as The New Level, but many are still focused on the New Day’s exit from WWE back in May. Asking the decorated tag team duo then going by Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods to take a pay cut was a topic of conversation from the first reports about New Day leaving WWE. But this renewed interest stems from Kofi telling Ariel Helwani the contracts they were asked to replace their existing ones with were for “more than 50%” less than they had been making. Conrad Thompson stirred the pot again the morning after New Level’s Kofi and Austin Creed retained the AEW Trios titles they hold with Swerve Strickland on Dynamite last night (Sept. 2). On the latest Grilling JR, Thompson said: “More than 90 days ago when we found out that New Day was no more in WWE, and there was lots of rumors and innuendo at the time that they were [offered] a 50 percent pay cut. The rumor and innuendo that I’ve heard is it was actually a 75 percent pay cut. And some of that was confirmed on an interview with Ariel Helwani. Now, they didn’t say 75, but that’s the number I’ve heard bandied around.” f4wonline’s Bryan Alvarez was quick to respond to Thompson, writing: New Day’s requested pay cut was not 75 percent. It was exactly what they said it was, which was just slightly more than 50 percent. Personally, I’m not too hung up on the specifics. I understand why WWE wanted to shift New Day to a deal that more accurately reflected how they were being used, and I certainly understand Kofi and Creed telling them… “no”, especially since they know they be a lot more useful than how WWE would let them be. But what about you, Cagesiders? Do you buy the almost 75% Thompson’s heard talk of? Does it change your feeling about the situation? Discuss below.

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A new report offered more backstage details on the pay cut offered to the now-former New Day, AEW's New Level, before their WWE departure.