Pat Buck Opens Up About His Jump From WWE To AEW

Pat Buck really thought someone would leak the news that he'd joined All Elite Wrestling.

"In certain capacities, I assumed the moment I walked in, 'Okay, it's going to be out there," Buck told Tony Schiavone and Aubrey Edwards on the "AEW Unrestricted" podcast. Buck talked about the whirlwind of leaving WWE after this year's WrestleMania, and being hired by AEW within 12-24 hours of his release. He said it was "pretty wild, but it's the greatest thing" that's ever happened to the wrestler, trainer, and producer.

"When I quit WWE, I didn't have this lined up," Buck continued. "Did I hope in my heart that I'd be here? For sure." Buck notes that he "took a gamble on [himself]" when he joined the upstart promotion, and that he was surprised by the lack of leaks in the company. "Even extras that were booked that day, some of them were extras that I booked for WrestleMania and the shows like a week ago, they walked in like, 'What the heck is this?'" Buck notes that the news got out a couple of weeks later, before joking with Schiavone and Edwards about all of the "stooges" in the business.

According to Buck, he had known he wanted to leave WWE for a while, as he didn't feel compatible with the schedule. "I wanted to be [in AEW], but there was no official thing," he said. So he emailed Tony Khan, reaching out to say that "AEW has done more for me in terms of my reputation in pro wrestling than WWE has."

The owner of WrestlePro and the founder of the Create-A-Pro Wrestling Academy noted that "the talent are here that I produced or trained," saying it  "meant the world" to him. "It feels like home."

Buck is grateful that he landed in AEW when he did, as he feels his "skillset has been sharpened in terms of production and structure," and says he approaches the job looking to "do my best and try to make this a better place."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "AEW Unrestricted" and give a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.