6 ft 10 in former WWE star reveals MJF was responsible for his AEW debut
A former WWE star who is now a popular name on AEW TV has revealed how his first appearance in the Tony Khan-led company came about. He credited MJF for playing a role in his debut.
Big Bill first gained traction due to his time in WWE, where he wrestled from 2011 to 2018. Following his release, he worked on the indies before finally making his AEW debut on the May 4, 2022, episode of Dynamite, where he faced Wardlow.
Although he lost that match in five minutes, Big Bill did enough to impress Tony Khan, and the latter started featuring him in a prominent role on TV. The six-foot-ten-inch star eventually found success by winning the AEW World Tag Team Championship along with Ricky Starks. After they parted ways, Bill joined Chris Jericho in The Learning Tree and is now doing some of his best work in years.
Big Bill recently appeared on the Talk is Jericho podcast, where he revealed that QT Marshall and MJF both reached out to him to inquire whether he would work a match against Wardlow.
“I’m like, ‘What the heck is this?’ It was QT [Marshall] reaching out and MJF reaching out, and they were asking if I could do this match with Wardlow. I said, ‘Yeah. Why not? This is a good opportunity.’ I don’t know if maybe they thought I was going to be afraid to do a job. I don’t know. Who gives a f***? Winning, losing, who cares, man?” [H/T: PWMania]
AEW star Big Bill texted Triple H before joining TNA Wrestling
Before Big Bill became All Elite, he worked in TNA Wrestling between 2021 and 2022. During this time, he competed against some of the best stars on the roster.
Bill revealed on the same podcast episode that he was a bit hesitant about joining the Nashville-based company because he didn't want to get on WWE's bad side since the global juggernaut spent a lot of money on his rehab. The AEW star recalled talking to Finn Balor when he was offered a deal, and The Judgment Day member advised him to talk to Triple H.
“I talked briefly to Finn when Impact [TNA] offered me to go there. Because I was like, ‘Dude. WWE has done so much for me in terms of rehab and they’ve paid a lot of money. I don’t want to insult them.’ He said, ‘Just talk to [Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.] He’ll understand.’ So then before I went to Impact, I just texted Hunter, wanted to let him know [I was] super appreciative.” [H/T: PWMania]
It will be interesting to see whether Big Bill can reach main event status in AEW under Chris Jericho's guidance.