Every WWE Release Of 2021 - Where Are They Now? (Five Years Later)
54. Tony Nese
Then: Realistically, WWE should've kept Tony Nese around so catering companies could grate cheese on his abs. Nobody has enjoyed grated cheese sprinkled over a baked potato backstage at Raw, SmackDown or NXT since. Probably. Y'know, unless they've purchased a cheese grater. These are the details people come for!
Seriously though, Nese has always been some physical specimen. If he was even a foot taller, then Vince McMahon might've fallen in love with him. As it was, Tony got plonked in the often rudderless Cruiserweight division then struggled to make any traction once the 205 Live stuff dwindled.
He was let go in June 2021.
Now: Come 23 October that same year, Nese was shown in the crowd for AEW Dynamite. The announcers hyped him up as a hot free agent who could be signing with the promotion soon. People knew what was coming as soon as they said that; in fact, they knew Tony was on his way in as soon as he was shown in the audience on All Elite's flagship show.
Like too many others, Nese has only made a splash on and off in AEW. He formed a decent enough tag-team with Josh Woods, has worked hard to grab eyeballs on the offshoot ROH broadcasts, and has recently worked as a coach behind the curtain on top of all that.
In addition, Tony Khan has let Nese go off and pursue some indy bookings too. That's one of the upsides to his AEW contract. He with the excellent abs has some freedom to wrestle elsewhere so long as it doesn't clash with AEW/ROH bookings.