Released AEW Star "Surprised By The News", Only Found Out When Others Checked On Her

Big update on the "less than ideal" circumstances around surprising release of AEW original.

Toni Storm Leva Bates Saraya
AEW

Leva Bates was "surprised by the news" that she was being released, and "was said to have found out [that she'd not be offered a new contract] when people contacted her to check on her.

This is according to Fightful Select, who reported that;

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"We’re told that Leva’s contract situation was a unique one, and that she was surprised by the news. Bates’ deal had expired and those close to her said that AEW didn’t have a conversation with her about renewing the deal. Some in the company found out when an email went out notifying that they were not renewing the deal. Bates was said to have found out when people contacted her to check on her...There were several in AEW that upon hearing the news, pushed for her to remain with the company, but we haven’t heard that there are plans to do that...Bates’ statement on social media was also applauded by many in the company as the circumstances surrounding her finding out she was leaving were less than ideal."

The former "Blue Pants" in NXT, Bates was brought in for All Elite Wrestling's very first show with a librarian gimmick alongside Peter Avalon. Eventually, she moved into a number of backstage roles including heavy involvement in Heels, the company's women and female identifying fan community.

She still worked sporadically for the group, wrestling 25 times over the four years spent with the organisation.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett