AEW: Backstage Update on The New Level’s AEW Contracts, Clark Connors on Original Name Pitched For The Dogs In AEW, Willow Nightingale Reflects on Four Year Anniversary Of Her AEW Signing

Backstage Update on The New Level’s AEW Contracts

As noted before, this past August’s AEW All In 2026 event at Wembley Stadium in London, England featured Kofi and Austin Creed, former Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in WWE, making their official AEW debut. Kofi and Creed revealed their new tag team name of The New Level and teamed up with Swerve Strickland to win the AEW World Trios Championship in a Trios Roulette Royale match at the event.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that The New Level’s contracts with AEW are for five years in length.

It was reported that The New Level were pitched to come to AEW and work with Strickland.

Strickland reportedly played a big part in bridging the relationship between The New Level and AEW due to AEW CEO Tony Khan would not speak with the duo until they were contractually free from WWE.

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Clark Connors Comments on Original Name Pitched For The Dogs In AEW

A recent episode of the What Happened When with Tony Schiavone podcast featured The Dogs’ Clark Connors and David Finlay as the guests. One of the topics discussed included Connors thoughts about how he and Finlay had originally pitched the name of “Raw Dogs” for their team name in AEW.

“When we came over here, we just became The Dogs, but we really wanted to pitch the name Raw Dogs, but I think there’s an issue with that whole Monday Night thing, but it sounds cool because we’re raw f—ing dogs, you know?

But The Dogs also is a sick name. It’s just no one’s ever done it before. No one’s been The Dogs.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com

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Willow Nightingale Reflects on Four Year Anniversary Of Her AEW Signing

Willow Nightingale recently reflected on Twitter about Wednesday being the four year anniversary of her official signing with AEW.

“You think she knew she’d end up being the first women’s triple crown champ in company history?”

You think she knew she’d end up being the first women’s triple crown champ in company history?

— Willow Nightingale (@willowwrestles) October 21, 2026

Nightingale has been with AEW since April of 2021. Nightingale was given the official #AllElite graphic and signing announcement on the October 21, 2022 episode of AEW Rampage following her singles match against Leila Grey on the show.