Top star admits he was already "considering joining AEW", took a "perfect storm of events" for him to join the promotion
Former Ring of Honor World Champion Jay Lethal recently discussed wanting to join AEW and the circumstances that led to his eventual debut.
Fans will recognize Jay Lethal as one of the most decorated names in pro wrestling, having captured the TNA (now IMPACT Wrestling) X-Division Title six times, the ROH World Title, and TV Titles twice. He was also the longest-reigning ROH World Tag Team Champion alongside Jonathan Gresham.
After ROH announced that the promotion was taking a hiatus, Lethal made his debut in AEW at the Full Gear pay-per-view in November last year. Tony Khan has since bought ROH and Lethal has appeared at the Supercard of Honor show this year.
During a recent episode of the Unrestricted podcast, Lethal admitted that he was considering joining the promotion prior to ROH's first closure.
“They [ROH] let everybody go. The odd part is, the year before they let everybody go, I was considering coming to AEW. I felt like the only reason that I hadn’t gone to AEW and jumped ship in the very beginning was that I was extremely loyal to Ring of Honor...," Lethal said.
He added that at the time, it was a "perfect storm of events" that helped him make the decision.
"But it was just the perfect storm of events, not having many shows, not drawing too well when we did have the shows, and paying everybody. They couldn’t take it anymore. The company closes and now I can finally explore that option that I was thinking about.” [H/T WrestlingNews.co]
.@TheLethalJay has found the #ForbiddenDoor and lays and lays down the challenge to TNT Champion @sammyguevara for #AEWDynamite! #AEWFullGear https://t.co/21DEnOGbQh
Jay Lethal will team up with Satnam Singh tonight on AEW Rampage
The former ROH World Champion aligned himself with Sonjay Dutt at Supercard of Honor, turning heel during his clash against Lee Moriarty. The pair also gatecrashed Jonathan Gresham's celebrations after he won the world title, only for Samoa Joe to return and make the save.
Former NBA player Satnam Singh has since emerged as working with Lethal and Dutt. The three have attacked Joe on several occasions in the weeks that have followed.
TONIGHT on #AEWRampage back at its regular time of 10pm ET / 9pm CT on @tntdrama, after taking out @ringofhonor World TV Champion @SamoaJoe, #SatnamSingh (@hellosatnam) will make his long-awaited in ring debut when he teams with @TheLethalJay! https://t.co/Ir0CF1RmBc
The seven-foot star will make his in-ring debut for the promotion next to Lethal on this week's edition of Rampage. It should be noted that an opponent for the duo has not yet been announced.
It remains to be seen how things pan out for Singh and Lethal as they look to make their mark on the AEW roster.