Former SmackDown star open to joining AEW after recent WWE release; says he's grateful to Tony Khan
Former SmackDown star Mansoor (aka Mason D. Madden) revealed he is open to joining AEW following his WWE release.
Nearly three years after joining the Stamford-based company, Mansoor moved to the main roster in 2021. Over the next two years, he competed on Monday Night RAW and SmackDown. However, he was let go on September 21 as part of a WWE release spree.
Mansoor is currently a free agent after his 90-day non-compete clause expired. He is scheduled to return to the ring at an independent event on January 26, 2024.
During a recent interview with Denise Salcedo on Instinct Culture, the 28-year-old star was asked whether he would be open to joining AEW. He disclosed that he would.
"[Have you had any conversations with AEW? Is that a place that you are interested in speaking to them?] Sure. I love AEW. Primarily because I have a lot of really close friends who don't work at WWE anymore and their families are fed and taken care of because of AEW and Tony Khan and their team. So, for that, I will always be eternally grateful, especially, for the people who got let go during the pandemic. I mean, there are people who would've been deported. I mean, there are people who would have had to leave America if it were not for the fact they got a work visa. In some cases AEW. In some cases IMPACT," he said.
The former Maximum Male Model member added:
"So, for that reason, I will always be gracious that those options exist and that AEW exists as that sort of alternative because it's so incredibly important. (...) Yeah, and from what I hear, it's a great place to work." [55:14 - 56:41]
Mansoor had major backstage heat with co-workers at huge WWE PLE for two reasons. Check out the details here.
Mansoor and other WWE stars watched AEW backstage at NXT shows
During his interview with Denise Salcedo on Instinct Culture, Mansoor revealed that he and his "buddies" secretly watched AEW backstage at NXT shows during the Wednesday Night Wars.
He explained that while they followed NXT on the big screen, they played AEW Dynamite on his phone.
"I've been a fan of AEW. I mean from day one it was like... So, I was in NXT for the heyday of the Wednesday Night Wars and it was so funny because like there was such a culture of like, 'Oh, AEW ahhh.' But we'd be in this big, because we used to film at Full Sail College, so we'd be watching the show in a big lecture hall. And I'd be sitting with my buddies and we'd be watching AEW on the phone like a two-screen experience. [Like, don't let no one see us] Yeah, yeah. On the big screen there'd be NXT and on the small there'd be AEW," he said.
"It was tough" - Mansoor revealed his reaction to Triple H becoming Head of Creative in WWE. Check out the details here.
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