Lio Rush thinks that Tony Khan only saw him as a manager.
The Double Or Nothing pay-per-view in 2021 was a monumental night for All Elite Wrestling. The show was the first show to feature a full crowd at a wrestling event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with that, the pay-per-view featured the in-ring return of Sting and the surprise debut of Lio Rush.
Rush's tenure with the promotion didn't last long, as he became a free agent after his contract with AEW expired in February 2022. This came shortly after Rush spoke out on Twitter regarding a controversial tweet from Tony Khan on New Year's Eve in 2021.
In a new interview with the Say Less podcast, Rush was asked if he thought that AEW knew what to do with him as a talent when he was employed by the company.
"Of course not. When I say things, I don’t wanna sound like it was breaking news because I feel like these things are so blatantly obvious. It’s like, yanno, he made it pretty clear to me, verbally, that when he was a fan of me, it was when I was in WWE and I was doing the manager stuff with Bobby [Lashley]. If that’s how he saw me, that’s the only light he sees me in… [then] that’s [probably what] he’s gonna shift me to be in that kind of role. Which I’m not, yanno… I’m so grateful for that time period [in WWE] because it taught me how to talk, it taught me how to present myself and build others up. No, I don’t think that [they] exactly knew what to do with me. That’s always a frustrating thing, but like you said when [I] say stuff it just gets f*cking blown up.”
Since leaving the company, Rush has dealt with various injuries. In October, Rush returned to the ring and has since competed for promotions such as GCW, PWG, and MLW. Earlier today, Rush was announced for NJPW's upcoming Super Junior Tag League.
In the past, Rush has noted that his AEW gimmick was thrown on him and that he didn't choose it himself. To learn more, click here.
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