"I cant believe these guys got fired" - Tony Khan comments on WWE releasing two recently signed AEW stars
AEW President Tony Khan has revealed that he was left shocked when he found out that Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland had been released by WWE.
Both Lee and Strickland were let go by WWE in November 2021 along with a whole host of talent including the likes of John Morrison, Karrion Kross and Ember Moon.
Fortunately for Lee and Strickland, they were both picked up by Tony Khan and signed to AEW. Lee debuted in February 2022, while Strickland was introduced at the Revolution pay-per-view in March 2022.
After @RealKeithLee won in his home state Texas in the #AEWRampage main event, @swerveconfident watched Keith’s back when he was attacked after the bell! After Rampage went off the air Limitless Keith Lee + Swerve Strickland addressed the San Antonio fans! youtu.be/yQ5LUD0ZSbg https://t.co/7O4mLMRMZM
Speaking on "Rasslin" with Barstool Sports, the AEW president questioned WWE's decision to release the two stars. Khan added that he understands there are only a limited number of spots on the roster, but leaving out Lee and Strickland was still unjustified.
“I can’t believe these guys got fired by any wrestling company in the world. I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking if you run a wrestling company and you don’t have a spot for Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee, but I get that there’s only so many positions at a company but I think any company that has those guys, it wasn’t like they’re not reasonable guys, they’re great, I love both guys," said Tony Khan. [50:13-50:38]
If you missed this week's episode of AEW Dynamite, you can see all of the results here.
Tony Khan has officially signed 13 performers to AEW in 2022 so far
The old saying is "you've got to spend money to make money" and Tony Khan has been spending a lot of money so far in 2022. Since the signings of Kyle O'Reilly and Mercedes Martinez in the dying days of 2021, Khan hasn't closed his checkbook.
In total, Khan has signed a total of 13 wrestlers to AEW since January 1, 2022, averaging almost one new signing per week. The three signings in January were Jake Atlas, Brody King and Danhausen, which was followed by an additional three in February with the arrival of Keith Lee, AQA and Buddy Matthews.
We repeat: Toni Storm is #AllElite!
Watch the latest episode on the @tbsnetwork app: tbs.app.link/zK3yp7e7Qob https://t.co/UxDl4as85Z
Five performers arrived in March alone, with Swerve Strickland and William Regal arriving at the Revolution pay-per-view. Jeff Hardy and Paige VanZant were then signed on the following Dynamite, while Toni Storm arrived on the final Dynamite of the month.
Finally, Tony Khan managed to sign Wheeler Yuta to an official contract in April after ROH Supercard of Honor, as well as signing Samoa Joe on the same day.
Who do you think will arrive in AEW next? Let us know in the comments section down below!
Please credit "Rasslin" and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.