Daniel Garcia signs full-time deal with AEW
Daniel Garcia is officially #AllElite.
AEW head Tony Khan announced the news on Twitter Tuesday following a report by Fightful that, along with Lee Moriarty, the indie standout had already signed a deal at some point.
On Twitter, Khan said that Garcia [sic] “came into AEW with a great reputation built through his hard work on the indies, & he’s continued to work hard here in AEW + he’s shown no fear, never backing down from anyone, even the best in the world. Thank you & welcome to the team Daniel Garcia!”
Garcia tweeted, “I told myself that I didn’t want to sign somewhere just to say I got a contract. I wanted to go somewhere that would help me become the best wrestler in the world. I know AEW is where I can become that. I plan on being a major player in this company for a very long time.”
Garcia has been one of the indies’ busiest talents this year, working all over the country against top talents like Minoru Suzuki, Christopher Daniels, Davey Richards, Alex Shelley, Jay White, Josh Alexander, Tom Lawlor, JD Drake, Moriarty and others.
The 23-year-old debuted on a September 2020 edition of AEW Dark, teaming with Buffalo, NY, teammate Kevin Blackwood in a losing effort to Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss. That was followed by another tag team loss to fellow Buffalo brethren The Butcher & The Blade.
Garcia returned in May 2021 with occasional appearances on Dark and Dark: Elevation before making his Dynamite debut in August 2021, teaming with 2point0 in a losing effort to Jon Moxley, Darby Allin and Eddie Kingston.
As his AEW career has evolved, he has remained aligned with 2point0 and has seen singles action against CM Punk, Moxley and Allin.
Fightful also added that the deal Moriarty was offered in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a full-time deal and he was given the option to sign the deal at that point. No reason was given why there was a six-week delay in the formal #AllElite announcement.
It’s assumed both will given the opportunity to fulfill any remaining independent dates.