Those wrestlers doing their bit to help solves AEW’s roster bloat problems…
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00:00 To kick this thing off, let's just acknowledge that yes, Cody and Brandi Rhodes do exist,
00:05 they just aren't on this particular list.
00:08 They obviously qualify as wrestlers who have left AEW, but after going through their departures
00:13 in great detail over and over and over again, I'm kinda tired of it to be honest, and
00:20 I'm gonna leave it at that.
00:21 Instead, today we're gonna talk about the AEW departures that are a little bit further
00:26 removed from the zeitgeist.
00:29 Each of them are notable because, with a few exceptions, AEW don't release people before
00:34 the end of their contracts.
00:35 We'll cover a couple of those exceptions on the list, but Tony Khan isn't just cutting
00:40 people willy nilly.
00:42 So with that in mind, I'm Andy from WhatCulture, and here are 10 wrestlers who no longer work
00:47 for AEW.
00:49 10.
00:50 Bea Priestley
00:52 This one is particularly interesting, as the former Bea Priestley now works for WWE, where
00:57 she can be found working on NXT UK as Blair Davenport.
01:02 Debuting for AEW in July 2019, Priestley is best known for her brief feud with an early
01:07 babyface Britt Baker, but was appearing on and off for the company until March 2020,
01:13 balancing it with her commitments in Japan.
01:16 But then the global bastard happened, and with Priestley unable to travel from her home
01:20 in Japan to AEW shows in the United States, she was let go.
01:24 That happened in August 2020, and 10 months later she was signed by WWE.
01:30 So after all of that, it's safe to say that things worked out pretty well for her in the
01:34 end.
01:35 9.
01:36 Mel
01:37 The former Melanie Cruz was used as part of everybody's favourite AEW stable, the Nightmare
01:42 Collective, and showed her commitment to the cause by having her head shaved bald for the
01:46 role in 2020.
01:48 But in the end, she only wrestled in 5 matches for AEW, the last of which took place in August
01:55 2020.
01:57 Absent without announcement for a lengthy period of time, Mel was the subject of a report
02:01 from Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp in July 2021 stating that Mel had found success in her
02:07 day job away from wrestling and wasn't being factored into any AEW plans.
02:12 On top of this, she was semi-active on the indies last year, so she hasn't left wrestling
02:17 entirely, just AEW.
02:20 8.
02:21 Awesome Kong
02:22 Another member of the loved Nightmare Collective, Awesome Kong ended up leaving AEW for entirely
02:28 different reasons to Mel, having formally retired from wrestling in 2021 after taking
02:33 time off the previous year to film the final season of GLOW.
02:37 A legend of women's wrestling, Kong has found considerable success elsewhere.
02:42 Her AEW run was a little brief, starting at the first Double or Nothing in May 2019 and
02:48 effectively lasting just 8 months, but such is life.
02:52 In her prime, she could've easily been set up for a long, incredible run at the very
02:57 top of the card.
02:59 7.
03:00 Shima
03:01 Another AEW career crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Shima and his Strong Hearts lads
03:07 have been restricted primarily to their home base in Japan since the world started falling
03:12 apart in March 2020.
03:14 Shima had originally been pinpointed as the go-between for a potential partnership between
03:18 AEW and the upstart Chinese promotion OWE, but then, well, you know, the pandemic happened
03:25 and here we are.
03:26 It would've been cool to see the former Dragon Gate cornerstone do more in AEW, particularly
03:32 as his Kenny Omega singles match was pretty great, but maybe we'll get more once international
03:37 travel isn't such a pain in the arse, because I personally would love to see Strong Hearts
03:41 back in AEW.
03:43 6.
03:45 Jimmy Havoc
03:46 Horrific allegations made against Jimmy Havoc during the Speaking Out movement of Spring
03:50 2020, including domestic abuse, physical assault and worse, led to the former Superbad Squad
03:56 member being released by the company that August.
03:59 Initially set for counselling and rehabilitation, while suspended by AEW, Havoc is no longer
04:05 active in pro wrestling.
04:07 The punishment dealt to this alleged abuser was one that should've been reflected elsewhere
04:11 in the wrestling business as a consequence of Speaking Out.
04:15 5.
04:16 Leo Rush
04:17 Becoming a free agent on the 14th of February this year, Leo Rush's run as a contracted
04:22 AEW wrestler barely lasted six months.
04:25 Signed the previous September after debuting at Double or Nothing, where he was injured
04:29 in the Casino Battle Royale that he entered as The Joker, Leo had actually been off TV
04:34 for a little while prior to his official departure.
04:38 Being last wrestled for AEW on the 8th of December episode of Dynamite.
04:42 An unfortunate turn of events, really, and one that has continued since then, with Leo
04:47 recently suffering another injury while working PWG's Battle of Los Angeles in January,
04:53 shelving his career for an undisclosed period of time.
04:57 Here's to a speedy recovery, because the guy's far too talented to be sidelined for
05:02 too long.
05:03 4.
05:04 Eva Lise
05:05 Though she debuted for AEW in 2019, Eva Lise didn't start picking up more regular bookings
05:11 there until 2020, when she won the Deadly Draw tag tournament alongside partner Diamante.
05:18 Unfortunately that September, she and Banderosa had a match that, being polite, didn't quite
05:23 go to plan.
05:24 An apparent backstage disagreement spilled into the ring, and watching it, there were
05:28 clearly periods of one side not cooperating with the other, and it wasn't Banderosa.
05:35 Let go by AEW due to reported issues with coaches in April 2021, Eva Lise put out a
05:41 statement alleging mistreatment.
05:43 Given her questionable reliability as a narrator, it's probably best to take that one with
05:48 a giant handful of salt.
05:51 3.
05:52 Kylie Rae
05:53 While it initially looked like Kylie Rae was being set up to play a big role as an early
05:57 face of AEW's women's division, she formally departed the company early in its run, with
06:02 Tony Khan describing the split as "very amicable".
06:06 Details were few on the ground.
06:08 But Kylie later stated that nobody made her leave, however, and it soon became clear that
06:13 the dumb conspiracy theories that emerged online following her departure were just that.
06:18 Dumb.
06:19 Kylie has since worked for such promotions as Impact Wrestling and the NWA, taking several
06:24 breaks from the sport for health reasons.
06:27 This of course is far more important than anything that has ever gone on in a wrestling
06:32 ring, and in January she celebrated 90 days sober.
06:36 2.
06:37 Ben Carter
06:39 A bit of a cheat entry here, as Ben Carter was never truly employed by AEW, but he did
06:44 catch the eye when wrestling for the promotion in September 2020, particularly for his awesome
06:50 match with Scorpio Sky on Late Night Dynamite.
06:53 Visa issues unfortunately prevented AEW from being legally allowed to pay Carter.
06:59 Later he ended up signing for WWE, which had always been a dream of his.
07:03 And while there was all this talk of him being poached away, Vince McMahon's company actually
07:08 made their approach to Carter before he turned up in AEW.
07:12 Today you can catch him on NXT UK as Nathan Fraser.
07:16 Bad name, good wrestler.
07:19 1.
07:20 Big Swole
07:21 Easily the most publicised AEW departure to date, Big Swole confirmed in November 2021
07:27 that after much consideration, she and AEW had come to the mutual agreement that her
07:31 expiring contract wasn't going to be renewed, effectively making her a free agent.
07:37 A few weeks later, the incident caught fire.
07:40 Citing her perceived lack of diversity in AEW as one of the driving factors behind the
07:45 decision as well as some structural issues, Swole's reasonable, fair and well-explained
07:50 criticisms were met by Tony Khan, claiming that he let Swole go because, in his words,
07:56 he felt her wrestling wasn't good enough.
07:58 Khan responding to Swole's comments on such an important matter like a Gotten 2 message
08:03 board poster is probably something he regrets in private.
08:07 And at the end of the day, all he really had to do was not tweet.
08:13 But anyway guys, that's our list, so tell us what you think down in the comments section
08:17 below.
08:18 And if you enjoyed that, don't forget to like, share, subscribe and ring the bell for
08:20 notifications.
08:21 Then you can follow us on Twitter @WhatCultureWWE and myself @AndyHMurray where you can tell
08:27 me how wrong I am.
08:29 Goodbye!
08:30 [MUSIC PLAYING]