Lio Rush Addresses Whether He Would Return To WWE
Former WWE Superstar Lio Rush has addressed whether or not he would be open to another run with the company down the line, admitting he doesn't "rule anything out."
In an exclusive "Wrestling Inc." interview with Nick Hausman, Rush admitted his time with WWE was his "first experience with being signed," and because of that, everything about that time was something he thought was typical. Rush admitted to thinking it "was just hectic all the time," and he expected he was "gonna be stressed out from the schedule all the time."
He worked with the company from 2017 – 2020, appearing on the main roster as the manager for Bobby Lashley and wrestling on shows like WWE "205 Live" and WWE "NXT", where he got a run with the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
"I thought these things were normal ... I am grateful for my experience there. I don't have the same path or the same lane or direction within the company as someone else," he said. "It's hard to even focus on that when you have a schedule as busy as WWE. You don't even notice it, you're so focused on yourself."
Rush was released by WWE back in April 2020 as part of their COVID-19 budget cuts, and he did endure a few controversies during that time, having public issues with both Finn Balor and Mark Henry. However, while he did "think the chapter was closed for the time," he also believes companies grow and people grow, which is why a return might not be out of the realm of possibility.
"I think situations change, I think values and stocks rise. I think people like money; I think people like to make money and that's what it ultimately comes down to when it comes to business. So no, I don't rule anything out," he said.
At AEW's Double Or Nothing in 2021, Rush appeared as the Joker in the Casino Battle Royale as a one-off participant. He then claimed that he was retired from professional wrestling. Despite that, he would return and then sign with AEW, working for the promotion from September of that year until January 2022 when his contract expired.
Rush was vocal in demanding that Tony Khan apologized to Big Swole after his online comments about not re-signing her, and he didn't really feel a big "change of pace" when working for them. Though, he did believe that AEW was "a little more freeing in the air," and there were "less egg shells on the ground to tiptoe over."
"Still in arenas, still traveling the world, still having a wrestling fanbase, it all starts to look the same after a while," Rush said. "Nothing too major other than that kind of freeness in the air, that was very palpable and you could feel that difference in the air for sure."
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