QT Marshall Addresses AEW Departure And Return, Not Joining Cody Rhodes In WWE

QT Marshall has the distinction amongst AEW talent of being one of two names to leave the promotion and then return. At the time of his parting with AEW, many believed he'd be joining Cody Rhodes in WWE and in a recent interview with "Sports Illustrated," Marshall explained why he decided against reuniting with the "American Nightmare."

According to Marshall, he did consider going to WWE but in AEW he gets to do several different things. "I remember telling Tony a long time ago when Cody first went to WWE. I'm never going to leave AEW to go work in the office at WWE," he explained, as his current position in AEW gave him greater importance than being a faceless cog in WWE's power structure.

"It's not just me anymore, it's my wife, it's my dog, it's – you know – my brother just moved to Georgia, so the school – there's so many different things going on, I can't just pack up," Marshall explained, saying he'd have been open to being a main roster star. 

"That's the dream, right? Like, when I was growing up, I only knew WWF," Marshall continued. Marshall claims he spoke to someone from WWE but was rubbed the wrong way by the conversation. "I don't know if it's affected my relationship with Cody, but we're still pretty close."

"I think deep down I just was looking for a reason to not go through with having more conversations," QT Marshall said. "I'm very comfortable at AEW, I'm comfortable with Tony, I love the people there." Marshall further noted that the promotion is currently trying to get back to the way things were, and that he believes in AEW.

Marshall is set to face social media influence, Big AJ – a former pro wrestler – during the Zero Hour of the upcoming AEW Full Gear. According to him, this match was something he could have easily taken to any other promotion but he chose AEW. 

He recalled speaking to Cody Rhodes after telling the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion that he was going back to AEW, a decision Rhodes not only respected and supported, even if he had no plans to help Marshall come to WWE.

"I remember talking to him about my frustrations with AEW at the time, and he literally told me like 'Well, if you're gonna quit your job just to come here? Like don't do that, that's not a good decision,'" Marshall claimed. Rhodes simply didn't want him to leave AEW because of unhappiness and urged him to find a way to be happy. Marshall soon put work into his conditioning.

"I remember when I saw Tony in January...he couldn't believe like my body transformation," Marshall explained, "and I said 'Yeah, I'm not stressed!'"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Sports Illustrated" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.