Erick Redbeard says signing with AEW has never a conversation because he wanted to leave Brodie Lee's legacy alone.
The man formerly known as Erick Rowan appeared on the unforgettable Brodie Lee Celebration of Life episode of AEW Dynamite in December 2020. In doing so, he honored the life of his former tag team partner, who passed away a few days before the show. This appearance seemed like a one-off, but he worked a few more dates in 2021.
Redbeard returned to AEW in March 2022 and teamed up with PAC and Penta Oscuro to face the House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews) at AEW Revolution. He later joined forces with Danhausen on the August 12 episode of AEW Rampage, where the duo teamed up to face Austin and Colten Gunn. Redbeard hasn't appeared on AEW programming since that match.
Speaking with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, Redbeard was asked whether signing with AEW was ever talked about. He responded by describing how it was never a conversation because he was focused on his own projects, and he didn't want to constantly remind everyone of Brodie Lee so soon after he passed away. Redbeard also stated that he didn't want to be associated with the Dark Order because it was Lee's legacy, and he wanted to preserve that.
“It was never a conversation. I was doing and pursuing my own things. It was just never a thing, and I didn’t, at that time especially, I didn’t wanna be the guy that distract and always made you remind people of a loss, especially that quickly. With the Dark Order, I wanted nothing to do it. That’s nothing to say that I’m better, no. What I’m saying is, I didn’t want anything to do with it because that’s his legacy. If it’s gonna fizzle out, I want it to fizzle out," he said.
Likewise, he stated that he wanted to leave the memory of Lee on its own, rather than potentially affecting it by working in the company. Redbeard then noted that he didn't see a spot for himself in AEW.
"But he made and created that in such a quick amount of time that he had left, that I want that to be the memory of him, his TNT Championship, his dog collar matches. I want that all to be held up here, and I wanted nothing to do with that. So even if there was a conversation, I wouldn’t have seen myself having a spot there," Redbeard said.
In a previous interview, Redbeard stated that he'd be open to returning to AEW if the right story came along. You can check out his comments here.
Click here to see Redbeard's comments about how the sheep mask became part of his ensemble during his run with the Wyatt Family.
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