Jake Atlas signs full-time contract with AEW
On the day after his AEW debut match aired, Tony Khan announced that Jake Atlas has signed a deal with the promotion, saying he is now #AllElite.
Khan also said Atlas will be in Newark, New Jersey, for Wednesday’s Dynamite TBS debut, later saying in an interview that he will wrestle on Friday’s Rampage with his opponent revealed Wednesday. He defeated Serpentico on Monday’s Dark: Elevation in his debut.
Atlas replied to the tweet, thanking Khan and AEW and saying, “If only everyone knew every detail leading up to this. This means everything to me. Cliché but I REALLY have a lot to prove now. This year, whether you love me or hate me, you’re going to know me. It is what it is. Superstar is back.”
Atlas signed with WWE in the fall of 2019 and started with the company in the early part of 2020. He was cut in August 2021.
After a match with Taylor Rust at Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor in September 2021, Atlas (Kenny Marquez) said he was stepping away from pro wrestling to focus on his mental health. That followed an extensive interview Atlas did with Denise Salcedo where he detailed his experiences in WWE NXT where his mental health was the worst it had been in two years there.
During the interview, he also detailed his longtime friendship with Jungle Boy and that he hoped to work with him again.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.