AEW Star Exits The Company, Joins IMPACT Wrestling

This former AEW title holder joins IMPACT.

by Andrew Pollard
Frankie Kazarian
AEW

Frankie Kazarian has officially left AEW and returned to IMPACT Wrestling.

Kaz made his IMPACT return at the company's Hard to Kill PPV this weekend, with the veteran cutting a promo to detail how he's opted to bet on himself after finding himself in an AEW locker room with "people he thought were his friends".

PWInsider.com notes that Kaz - who was one half of the inaugural AEW Tag Team Champions - asked for his release from Tony Khan's promotion and was granted it. The situation between Kazarian and AEW is said to have been an amicable one, and the door is open for Frankie to potentially return to All Elite Wrestling at some point in the future.

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Kazarian made several appearances for IMPACT during 2022, including defeating 'Speedball' Mike Bailey to become the X-Division Champion at last year's Bound for Glory. As a result of that win, Kaz was able to challenge Josh Alexander for the IMPACT World Title at Over Drive in November. Whilst he was ultimately lost to the Walking Weapon, it was after that 30-minute war that Kazarian asked for his AEW release.

Having made his in-ring debut in 1998, Frankie Kazarian spent many a year in TNA/IMPACT, first competing for the promotion from 2003 to 2005, then returning to the then-TNA from from 2006 to 2014. During those stints, Kazarian had three reigns with the Tag Team Titles and - including his most recent X-Division Title win - is a five-time X-Division Champion.

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Senior Writer
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.