More on Lio Rush-AEW, More Expirations On The Horizon
Added 2022-01-22 16:56:38 +0000 UTCLio Rush announced today that his AEW contract expires on February 14th, and he will be a free agent.
Last night, Fightful learned that many talent and staff at Rampage became aware that Lio Rush wouldn't be remaining with the company. From AEW's side, we're told that the contract expiration is one of many that is running out over the next month or so, and there's a possibility that some of those expirations will be used moving forward. We're told they won't be publicly announced by the company. We reached out to Lio Rush for comment or clarity but haven't heard back.
Those in AEW we spoke to say they haven't seen him at AEW since early December. One source says they believe he was scheduled for an appearance after that in December, but it didn't happen.
Fightful spoke to Lio about AEW and Tony Khan last week, and he said the following.
"It's always a cool thing when you have somebody passionate about what you love doing," Lio began by saying. "Tony is clearly, incredibly passionate about professional wrestling. A lot of his excitement bounces off people and his energy is very contagious when it comes to wrestling. It's cool to have a boss that thinks of wrestling in that aspect. When it comes to me in particular, it was a nice feeling to have someone with that much influence and power say, 'this guy is good and I want him as part of my company.' That's such a compliment, a really cool compliment. I'm super appreciative of that."
"I got offered a deal initially and things happen, things change, the world of wrestling has changed. I will say this, this is no secret, this is me pointing out the obvious; I'm a lone wolf. I go where I want, I like putting things on my resume and I like working different places and wrestling anybody and everybody. We've seen that since I left WWE. I've been to AAA, MLW, AEW, New Japan. (My independence) is very important. It's very important for my mental stability. I never really like being stuck in one spot, especially if I don't have control over that," Rush said. "This is the time's we are in with wrestling right now and it's a beautiful thing that you can have someone be signed here, but also work there and signed to multiple deals, but still be able to pop up. We just saw Mickie James get announced for the Royal Rumble, that's incredible. It's no secret. I'm on a deal with AEW, but I'm also on a deal with New Japan. I'm also doing my own things back at home. It's pretty open-ended and it's exciting."
Lio had tweeted that he would be working with Tony Khan and Megha Parekh for positive change in 2022.
https://twitter.com/IamLioRush/status/1477383798320816129
Rush has also worked with NJPW and GCW since 2020, and is scheduled to be a part of AEW's hip hop collaboration in addition to dropping his own EP in February.
We'll work to learn if there's more on this.
Comments
Totally agree.
Steveisnotmyname
2022-01-24 01:09:00 +0000 UTCAlthough I love Lio it's like every time I invest into him, he just disappears. Yes being a lone wolf and avoiding stagnation is one thing, but man if I don't see you but 3 times a year you lose space in my mind and it's sad because he deserves that space
2022-01-22 18:38:04 +0000 UTCDamn, that's upsetting, cause AEW is technically the first time I've seen Lio wrestle and he is a goddamn athletic masterpiece.
CSDX
2022-01-22 18:35:54 +0000 UTCI agree with your observation about his family. Watched him on The Challenge and listening to any of his interviews, always get the impression he doesn’t want long term commitments that separate him from his family. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like this is who Lio has shown to be long before his Twitter comments.
Wallace Koalis
2022-01-22 17:54:57 +0000 UTCI have faith that Lio will be around for one off matches here and there in AEW. He is incredibly talented for such a young age and his heart is with his family at the core of his decision making. Wish him nothing but success
2022-01-22 17:39:44 +0000 UTCHe stated his contract was expiring. He didn’t say he was being fired or quitting. So it sounds like this was always gonna be the end date for him, pending any extensions.
Travis Selvidge
2022-01-22 17:27:10 +0000 UTCThe question then is, was this move towards free agency something that started in January, or was he already on the way out in December? The scheduled in appearance in December seems to imply this was already in motion before the twitter storm related to swole.
mikelima777
2022-01-22 17:21:27 +0000 UTCI was enjoying the lio/dante dynamic, little bit sad he's not sticking around. Of course one cant help but to speculate because of the weird timing of things.
e d
2022-01-22 17:21:19 +0000 UTCAgain we haven't confirmed that
Fightful Select
2022-01-22 17:19:42 +0000 UTCThis is clearly backlash for his comments supporting Swole.
Justin A. Thomas
2022-01-22 17:15:14 +0000 UTCVery sad. Loved watching him wrestle in AEW and was excited to see what he could do
Jmazz
2022-01-22 17:14:52 +0000 UTCIt would be good to get some clarity from Lio directly. Either it was a short-term initial deal because Lio is wary of contracts, or they did opt to part ways. But if it is not working out, at least he does get to leave and can choose where and how often he works.
David Feig
2022-01-22 17:12:37 +0000 UTCHopefully there isn’t more to it than this. I’m sure it won’t stop speculation either way but ultimately if this is how they wanted it, a short term deal, it makes sense for both sides.
Dave Stroble
2022-01-22 17:08:49 +0000 UTCThis is odd to say the least
Chazz Shaw
2022-01-22 17:06:39 +0000 UTCI’m glad he is finding that work/life balance in order to avoid burn-out. I hope his ability to remain independent extends his career, as there aren’t as many people as gifted and entertaining at Lio. His linked tweet seemed gracious; I’d like to think he’s leaving behind a genuine working relationship for more opportunities in the future.
Wallace Koalis
2022-01-22 17:04:54 +0000 UTCDidn’t seem like his AEW deal was preventing him from doing other things. So weird.
2022-01-22 17:03:43 +0000 UTCDidnt he just sign about 6 months ago? I’m assuming he only signed a short term deal, as part of the independence thing and not being tied down he talked about.
Travis Selvidge
2022-01-22 17:00:51 +0000 UTC
