Former WWE star picks his dream bout for major AEW event
Ahead of the second iteration of AEW and NJPW's Forbidden Door pay-per-view, a former WWE Superstar has named his ideal opponent for the show.
The star in question is former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush. The Man of the Hour worked for AEW after being released from the world's largest wrestling promotion in April 2020. He is currently signed to New Japan, where he has quickly become a popular star in the company.
From CZW champion to ROH to NXT to Monday night raw with lashley to cruiserweight champion to GCW to NJPW to AEW. Thank you lio rush. https://t.co/q6zheZfWjH
The AEW/NJPW crossover event is set to take place in June this year. Rush was asked in an interview with MuscleManMalcolm who he would like to face should the Man of the Hour find himself on the card:
โThatโs a heavy question because thereโs so many guys that are currently on the roster that I wanted to wrestle but never have and was so close to wrestling," Rush said. "Yeah, thatโs incredibly hard. I feel like me being a part of that event in itself would be pretty cool, so, who knows." [H/T: Fightful]
The 28-year-old star would eventually go on to name Dante Martin as his ideal opponent. The two were involved in a storyline together before Rush's departure from AEW:
"In a perfect world, it would have been cool to wrestle Dante [Martin], but I know he just had that injury. Praying for him, huge prayers and respect to Dante, I saw that injury, and itโs pretty nasty.โ
The injury Rush referred to occurred at ROH's Supercard of Honor event, where Martin and Pentagรณn Jr. attempted a dangerous spot in the Reach for the Sky ladder match. Unfortunately, Martin horrifically injured his leg and is expected to be out of action for the foreseeable future.
Lio Rush's rough ride in WWE
Lio Rush's WWE run will most likely be remembered for the entertaining work he did as Bobby Lashley's manager. Despite the act regularly being one of the few highlights of a generally stale Monday Night RAW product at the time, many felt that having Rush perform as a mouthpiece was a gross misuse of his talents.
It was also around this time that it was reported that Rush had garnered backstage heat for issues with his attitude. It was revealed that the former NXT star refused to abide by certain unwritten backstage rules, which led to veterans feeling disrespected by his actions.
This prompted Rush to delete all mentions of WWE from his social media accounts. However, it seems as though the issues were eventually smoothed over as Rush would return to NXT a few months later and become the brand's Cruiserweight Champion.
@wrestlingsdeity If youโve never seen the greatness that is Angel Garza, go back and watch his matches against Lio Rush in the early days of NXT Live on USA. Some truly unbelievable matches. https://t.co/1BRbWnPo1O
He would hold the title for just over two months before dropping the belt to Angel Garza and being released from the company not too long after.