Big Bill almost joined a major company before AEW: "I asked them for a contract"

Big Bill now calls the AEW roster home and seems to be finding his stride with Chris Jericho in The Learning Tree. The near-seven-foot-tall grappler previously worked for WWE and its developmental territories, FCW and NXT, as well as TNA and several indie promotions. Bill is now revealing what he was told when he tried to secure a contract before joining Tony Khan.

The Redwood made his name in WWE as Big Cass from June 2011 to June 2018. He went on to work the indies while battling personal issues, then debuted for TNA in April 2021. Bill finished up with TNA in May 2022, and debuted for AEW the same month, but didn't sign a full-time contract until that August. The 38-year-old has also secured his first championship reign under his current employer as he and Ricky Starks held the AEW World Tag Team Championship for 123 days.

Bill recently spoke with Jericho on his Talk Is Jericho podcast, and revealed how he reached out to TNA for a contract before signing on with AEW full-time. The NYC native had been working for TNA on a per-show basis, and he wanted more. Bill recalled his TNA status and the process of signing with Khan.

"Per show. For a certain amount of time, I couldn’t do certain other promotions. That ran out. Then I was on a handshake deal. I had started hearing that maybe there was interest other places. I asked them for a contract, they were like, ‘Ah, we don’t want to pay that much.’ I totally understand that. That’s what I thought I could get elsewhere. I worked on a handshake deal with them, and then the opportunity came with AEW," Big Bill said. [H/T to Fightful]

Bill debuted for TNA at Rebellion 2021, teaming with Violent By Design as the surprise replacement for Eric Young in their eight-man win over Chris Sabin, James Storm, Eddie Edwards, and Willie Mack. He finished up with the company at the May 13, 2022 TV tapings, where he teamed with Bhupinder Gujjar for a win over Shera and Raj Singh.

The Learning Tree comes up short in AEW Dynamite

AEW brought a Ring of Honor gimmick match to Dynamite for the first time ever this week. The Fight Without Honor concept features no count-outs or disqualifications, there must be a winner, and competitors are not required to use the Code of Honor.

Wednesday's Dynamite saw ROH World Champion Chris Jericho team with Big Bill and Bryan Keith for a 14-minute loss to The Conglomeration's Mark Briscoe, Kyle O'Reilly, and Tomohiro Ishii. The finish saw Ishii pin Jericho, and then pose with the championship, which was given to the former WWE Champion for a major reason.

Ishii vs. Jericho seems to be the next match for the ROH World Championship. The Demo God recently dethroned Briscoe to become a two-time ROH World Champion, then promised to take the company to new heights. Bill and Keith are joining Jericho on his latest journey.