Joey was never exclusive to AEW, so he may have only wanted to work so many dates as he was still doing GCW and every-other-indie-on-the-continent at the time which usually leads to you being ‘the occasional booking’. Same as a normal job, if you’re available only in the mornings, only on weekdays, you aren’t getting shifts.

Based on interviews he did after he left he prefers working the indies as he is since he gets to be his own boss and has already been booking his own shows for years, instead of dealing with backstage politics/having a boss/etc.