Jack Evans says AEW contract made him 'a little soft'

Jack Evans says he got "lazy outside of the ring" during his time in AEW. 

The 40-year-old's contract with the promotion was not renewed after it expired at the end of April. During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Evans said that he feels the salary he was given by the company made him "a little soft." 

“I feel like that salary contract made me a little soft. There was a little while where I got a bit plump and I fell off after that layoff. I only feel like I started to come back after that layoff, but I think at that point the company had already made up its mind or whatever. I did just kind of get, not lazy in the ring, but lazy outside of the ring.”

Evans also said he feels the first year in AEW went well but he never regained his full momentum after having to miss four months at the start of the global pandemic. 

“I feel like for the first year the run actually started out good. We kind of had the place as the semi comedic tag team. Then me and Angelico were at the Mexican border, which got closed because of the COVID restrictions, we had this 4 month layoff. I had this practice match when I came back, and I actually got my face broken again, so there was another 2 month layoff. I feel like after that, I never came back full force, I really feel like I deteriorated."

"During those 4 months I maybe would have been used more and maybe I would have stayed on the ball more. But I didn’t have that right mentality when I was on a salary, I thought that this will go on forever.”

As for what is next for Evans, he says he's currently looking for a promotion in Mexico to work for. 

“I am not a man with the plan. For right now it is the same old same old with the indies. I am looking for a promotion in Mexico, so I am starting to send out resumes. But at my age, it might be time to start thinking about at least semi-retirement. I am at least hoping to get on TV in Mexico.”

Evans and Angelico signed with AEW in May of 2019 and would make their debut later that month at Double or Nothing. They would eventually be managed by Matt Hardy as part of the Hardy Family Office, which later became the Andrade Family Office. Angelico continues to be employed by AEW and teamed with the Butcher and the Blade on the May 4 edition of Dynamite in a losing effort to the Blackpool Combat Club.