10 Wrestlers Who No Longer Work For AEW

Things started so well for Big Swole in AEW. She was positioned opposite women’s division ace Britt Baker and the fans were into it. Even when an injury confined Baker to a wheelchair for several weeks, it didn’t derail enthusiasm for the feud.

That programme was followed by a losing effort against champion Hikaru Shida which maintained her position as a big concern in the women’s division. The global pandemic exacerbated her ongoing issues with Chron's disease and seemingly derailed her push with Tony Khan unable to book her consistently. Nonetheless, WWE star and Swole’s husband Cedric Alexander tweeted out “I’m so jealous” in response to her participation in All Out 2021, arguably the hottest wrestling show of the year.

A year on from her last Dynamite appearance, Swole announced that her contract would not be getting renewed, with her initial statement implying the decision was mutual:-

“This was a hard decision but a needed one. I am grateful for their understanding and that we could mutually come to this agreement.”

However, when Swole publicly criticised a lack of diversity in AEW, an angry Khan defended his company before claiming, “I let Swole’s contract expire as I felt her wrestling wasn’t good enough.”

It will be interesting to see if this initial mutual respect followed by public digs from both sides sets a precedent for the Rhodes' as the dust settles on their departure. Meanwhile, Swole has bounced back and currently holds Rise’s Phoenix of Rise Championship.