"Was it what I saw for myself in the company? Probably not" - Former WWE star on AEW exit
Former AEW wrestler Lio Rush recently discussed the reasons behind his exit from the company.
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion made his AEW debut as the surprise Joker entrant in the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing 2021. In the following months, Rush's tenure at All Elite Wrestling was brief, working only four matches before becoming a free agent when his contract expired in February 2022. He eventually debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
During a recent appearance on a K&S WrestleFest stream on Facebook, he revealed some of the reasons he left AEW. Apparently, the company had a predetermined plan for him, as evidenced by the vignettes they created for his debut.
Rush said he didn't see himself fitting into that plan since he had just finished playing a managerial role on TV and didn't want to move into a similar position:
“I feel like AEW clearly had a plan for me. I was presented a certain way. They had the vignettes and everything. So they knew what to do with me in terms of a plan they had. Was it what I saw for myself in the company? Probably not. I just came from being a manager on TV. Probably the last thing I would want to do is transition over and do a similar role,” said Rush. [H/T- Wrestle Talk]
Lio Rush discusses potential return to AEW
Former AEW star Lio Rush discussed the possibility of returning to the promotion in an interview with The Angle Podcast.
During the interview, Rush stated he had not closed the door on the idea and emphasized that there was no bad blood between himself and the company:
“I don’t know. The door isn’t closed on my end at least and I want to put the emphasis on my end because there is no bad blood with the company from what I know and understand. I don’t know how they feel and I’m not looking to know how they feel because I have my own things going on," said Rush.
You can check out the full interview here:
While there are no concrete plans for a return, Rush's comments suggest he might be interested in working with Tony Khan's promotion again in the future.
Would you like to see Lio Rush return to the Tony Khan-led promotion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.