Years after they first broke into AEW/Ring of Honor, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona of the Gates of Agony have found themselves on solid ground, forming the stable The Demand with Ricochet and defeating The Hurt Syndicate at AEW All Out. And as the duo's profiles have risen, so have their paychecks, with reports emerging recently that Kaun and Liona had reached new deals with AEW, locking them down in the promotion for years to come.
Appearing on the "Battleground Podcast" last week, Kaun and Liona confirmed they had reupped with the promotion. Liona revealed, however, that they didn't sign at the same time, instead claiming he renewed his AEW deal "a while ago." He also stated their motivations for re-signing were different, with Liona suggesting his biggest motivation was providing for his family.
"For me, as a family man, as a dad of four children, as the father of a type 1 diabetic, I had financial needs," Liona said. "This is my first time in this big opportunity, and to take advantage of that from a financial standpoint, I had to really address that. And thankfully, our brotherhood, none of that ever stood in the way. I never looked at him like 'Hey, you need to hurry up and sign.' No. Whatever happens, happens.
"And I think that's why we're in the spot we're in now, because it organically became that. He knew I cared about him, and I didn't force him. I never once asked him 'Hey, you going to sign yet?' Like, never. So I think that's why it worked out perfectly. And...what's next? Man, we're on a quest for gold. We saw that promo that Ricochet shot, and we looked at that as another opportunity to become undeniable and take that opportunity. And we want to be champions in AEW, and we will be champions in AEW."
As for Kaun, he stated that his reasons for signing were more business related, and that he actually held out from re-signing with AEW until right before his contract came due. His decision to ultimately stay with AEW was determined by a hike he took with his girlfriend around Seattle, which also served as a chance for Kaun to elevate what he wanted out of his wrestling career. Kaun also confirmed Liona's claim that they didn't speak about their deals beforehand, only informing his partner after he re-signed.
"We [my girlfriend and I] kind of just took this five hour hike to honestly go over what I wanted to accomplish in this business...how much time and equity I wanted to put into AEW," Kaun said. "They had invested in me. I really had to kind of check my ego at some point too, because everybody wants to be a World Champion, and I'm fairly new into the business, like nine years, but I had really high goals and aspirations. And honestly, we want to be at the top.
"I was like 'Hey, they invested in me. I want to invest in them.' I actually had a couple conversations with Tony where I was like 'Hey, I'm trying to be a workhorse here. If y'all invest in me, I'm down to be here and be an AEW guy.' And honestly, this is a new company, and why not be these guys that AEW can put their backs on and be the tag team and singles stars of the future. At that five hour hike, I was like 'You know what?' I screamed at the top of the hike. I was like 'Yeah, I'm here, I'm locked in.'"
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Battleground Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
