Private Party explains how Quen missing time with an injury was bittersweet.
Quen was sidelined for over a year with an injury after he wrestled on the December 2, 2022, episode of AEW Rampage. While he was out of action, his tag team partner, Isiah Kassidy, teamed up with The Hardys (Matt and Jeff Hardy), as well as Ethan Page for part of the run. Quen returned on the January 3, 2024, episode of AEW Dynamite. He and Zay went on to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship at AEW Fright Night Dynamite in October.
Speaking with Denise Salcedo for Instinct Culture, Zay and Quen were asked to reflect on Quen's absence. Zay first explained how it was scary but beneficial.
"It was very scary. I was super scared because all I knew was being in a tag team. I literally got out of wrestling training, straight into a tag team with Quen, so to have him not by my side was very scary. But luckily I had the likes of Matt Hardy and Ethan Page by my side and kind of literally walking me, holding my hand, going into this journey, and making me get my confidence and really find out who I am, and I feel like although it was a very sucky situation that Quen was gone, it was very beneficial to me because I found out who Isiah was, and I found out [how] to just be myself and just turn it up a notch when the gamer is on. It was very scary, but beneficial at the same time," Zay said.
Quen then recalled how it was a brutal time, but the upside was that he saw Isiah grow. He expressed his gratitude for the way that Zay didn't let people forget about him, as fans continued to think about him when Zay performed.
“It was definitely brutal. But there was an upside, which was watching Isiah grow and seeing that, I was always like, you know what, we gonna be alright because he didn’t let me die. So Isiah had it to the point where it’s basically like, you know Brother Zay, but it’s also like, where’s that other guy? So watching him grow was a good thing, and not being forgotten was better. So I always would take it to Isiah and I was just like, ‘Thank you,’ while I was gone," Quen said.
During the interview, Zay said that they would not customize the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Check out his comments here.
Click here to see what Zay had to say about winning the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
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