"I voiced concerns and frustrations" - Released AEW star opens up about his decision to part ways with Tony Khan
A former Tag Team Champion recently requested his release from AEW, and Tony Khan granted it. Since his exit, he has made a return to a major promotion. The star is none other than former ROH wrestler Frankie Kazarian.
Frankie Kazarian is en route to completing 25 years in professional wrestling. In his career, he has held a plethora of titles. He is a five-time X-Division Champion and has held the tag team titles in AEW, Ring of Honor, and IMPACT Wrestling.
Frankie Kazarian returned to IMPACT Wrestling during the Hard to Kill pay-per-view and mentioned that he has officially signed a long-term deal with the promotion. He also revealed that he personally requested to be released from AEW.
During a recent interview with PWInsider, Frankie Kazarian shared how his departure came about. He mentioned that he openly discussed his issues with the Tony Khan-led promotion. Kazarian also spoke with the promotion's head legal, Megha Parekh, and the company granted his request.
"I voiced concerns and frustrations and goals and aspirations and had a really good talk with management and left it there. I was still going to TVs and the last television I was at was in San Antonio. I sat down with Megha [Parekh], head legal of AEW, and had a long in-person conversation. I basically gave her the list of reasons why I wanted to move on and bet on myself, and now was the time to do it," Frankie Kazarian said. [H/T Fightful]
ICYMI: at #HardToKill @FrankieKazarian revealed that he has signed with @IMPACTWRESTLING!
Full results: impactwrestling.com/2023/01/13/har…
Watch replay on FITE: fite.tv/watch/impact-h… https://t.co/jW8DYOLt1v
Frankie Kazarian opened up about the details of his AEW contract
In the same interview, Frankie Kazarian mentioned that he had a little over two years remaining on his contract, and the higher-ups said they would roll over his deal. Hence, he preferred to leave the promotion.
“I still had two years left on my contract, two years to get rolled over. AEW management contacted me in early December, which was only a few weeks after [Josh Alexander] match. They contacted me 30 days out, which is what they’re supposed to do, and had talked about rolling me over and wanted to get the process going. I basically said, ‘thanks but no thanks.’" [H/T Fightful].
Kazarian also revealed that he and WWE were in talks before his IMPACT Wrestling debut.
Are you excited to see the former X-Division Champion back in the IMPACT Zone? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.