10 Wrestlers Who No Longer Work For AEW
5. Lio Rush
Fans of “The Man Of The Hour” were excited to see him turn up as the joker in Double or Nothing 2021’s Casino Battle Royale. His WWE run saw him plagued with talk of backstage heat, and despite crafting some bangers on NXT for the Cruiserweight Title he found himself part of Nick Khan’s bloodletting.
Failing to score a single elimination, Lio was at least able to showcase his speed and agility and looked set to become another WWE to AEW success story. Unfortunately his AEW debut turned out to be a bit of a false dawn for Bobby Lashley’s former hype man. Picking up an injury, Rush immediately announced his retirement from the business.
Only months later he had a change of heart and Tony Khan seemed happy to welcome him back. Little Lio returned on Dynamite and quickly involved himself with Dante Martin, the pair feuding with Team Taz. Once again it wouldn’t last.
Typically outspoken in tweets about the Big Swole incident, Rush called for Tony Khan to “APOLOGISE”. Despite a conciliatory follow up statement claiming he was proud to work with Tony Khan and that he and Khan had met for a productive and successful conversation on the matter, he was never again seen on AEW TV.
He announced early this year that his AEW was expiring and he was free for indie dates. His misfortunes have continued just this month after a shoulder injury forced him out of PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament.