Will Hobbs Recalls Being Under A "Tier 0 Contract" With AEW

On a recent episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone sat down with Powerhouse Will Hobbs of Team Taz where he talked about his AEW origins starting out on Dark and eventually joining Team Taz. Hobbs admitted that when he got contacted for Dark, he thought it was a rib.

"So I got a text from Markus Mac, who owns All Pro Wrestling out here in California, said he had threw my name out there. Didn't say anything more of it and then probably two hours later, I get a text from QT Marshall," Hobbs recalled. "I thought somebody was ribbing me. So I looked at my phone. I just threw my phone down for a few hours.

"I'm like, okay, we got a pandemic going on. Somebody's probably f–king with me. I finally responded, and QT said, 'Hey, are you local?' And I said, 'No, but I'll find a way out there.' Found the date, hustled up some money, got a plane ticket, got a hotel and was on my way to Jacksonville."

It was reported that AEW President Tony Khan helped book the Darby Allin vs. Hobbs match on Saturday's episode of Dynamite, and that Hobbs impressed Khan in that role. Hobbs talked about working with Khan on the match.

"He was hands-on on that," Hobbs revealed. "It was cool because he laid everything out what he wanted, so it made it super easy for Darby and myself to put the match together, and he asked me straight up, 'Willie, what do you want to do?' I was like, 'Well I want to do this, do that' and looked at Darby, and Darby was like, 'Okay, well, let's do it.'"

Edwards asked Hobbs was asked if he felt there was extra pressure with having the head of the company working on a match he's involved in. He said there was pressure, but there is always pressure for him because he's out there for his family.

"It was a little bit of pressure, but on the other hand, I feel like I got to prove something every time I'm out there," Hobbs admitted. "I either got to sink or swim because I got people depending on me. That's enough pressure right there. I did my thing, and that was it."

Hobbs also gave his AEW contract story as well. He said he started out as a tier 0 contract after his match with Allin meaning he was guaranteed a certain number of dates. He said that he became full-time after All Out and his program with Jon Moxley.

"So I started off as a tier 0, and I believe I got that offer, I want to say right after my Darby match for the Saturday night Dynamite," Hobbs recalled. "And so I was like, okay, I'm on my way. I believe the PPV was maybe three weeks after that, and then right after I did my whole thing with Mox, saving him, I got to the back and had another contract waiting for me.

"I got on the phone. I called a few people back at home, and when I got back to the hotel, I'm not a real emotional person, but I had to shed a few tears. And I got a lot of congratulations from lot of people there at AEW, so it was cool."

Hobbs later turned heel and joined Taz, Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. Hobbs revealed some pieces of advice Taz has offered to him so far.

"I've known Brian out here from California for a while," Hobbs noted. "I've known Ricky for a while, and working with Taz, it's cool because he actually gives me good advice like slow down, take your moments, be who you naturally are and a lot of times, in life, I'm an a**hole. I'm a mean person.

"You got kids," Edwards noted. "I think you kind of have to be.

"Yeah, especially since my older son's bigger than me almost. He tells me not to do the fake s**t. If you're going to be real, it will portray out there and people either love it or hate it, but working with those three is cool."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit AEW Unrestricted with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.