In the ever-changing landscape of professional wrestling, it’s common to see wrestlers move from company to company, and one AEW original recently confirmed that he had talks with WWE prior to settling on a decision for his immediate future.
Frankie Kazarian signed with All Elite Wrestling in 2019 and became one half of the first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions. However, in recent months the star has found himself limited to appearances on Dark and Dark: Elevation, and it was recently reported that his request to be released from the company was granted ahead of him signing a long term deal with IMPACT Wrestling.
Speaking to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Kazarian opened up about his decision to ask for his release from All Elite Wrestling and why he ultimately chose to sign with IMPACT. He was asked to clarify whether the decision had anything to do with a November match against Josh Alexander.
“Okay. So timing wise, you’re you’re pretty accurate. So I believe the match against Josh Alexander was November 18th. I still have two years left on my contract, two years to get rolled over. AEW management had contacted me early December, which was only a few weeks after this match. So it’s just kind of a coincidence timing wise.
“But they contacted me 30 days out, which is what they’re supposed to do, and they had basically talked about rolling me over and said you wanted to get the process going on that, and I mean, I basically said simply kind of, you know, thanks, but no thanks.
“I had kind of voiced, you know, concerns and frustrations and goals and aspirations, and had a really good talk with management AND kind of left it there for a while. I still was going to TVs and the last television I was at was in San Antonio, Texas. And I sat down with Megha who, if people don’t know, that’s the head legal in AEW, a very, very bright, brilliant woman, very nice, and had a long conversation in person and gave her the list of the reasons why I wanted to, you know, kind of move on bet on myself.
“That’s kind of the recurring theme here and that now was the time to do it. I wanted to do it so we could…I’ve always done business the right way. I wanted to be amicable about it. I wanted to get out before there was feelings of resistance or bitterness or any of that. So, that message was relayed and they wanted to do right by me, which I respect the hell out of and the deal was done. So, as of January 1st of this year, I was, quote unquote free agent.”
Frankie Kazarian Confirmed That He Had Talks With WWE While Deciding His Post-AEW Future
When asked if IMPACT Wrestling was always his goal after obtaining his release from AEW, Kazarian revealed that he’d spoken with WWE about the potential of signing there. While he was very complimentary of WWE as an organization and had a positive experience in those discussions, he ultimately decided that IMPACT Wrestling was a better fit at this stage in his career.
“Well, in the spirit of transparency. I had several great talks with people at WWE and I want to say those talks could not have been better, more positive, more professional. I have nothing but great things to say about everybody in that organization, especially all the people I spoke to and texted with, but ultimately this was just the best fit for me at this stage of my career, at this point in my life, at this time.
“I have a great relationship with Scott D’Amore. I’ve known him for over two decades. Obviously, I have history there. A lot of my legacy is there. Some of Frankie Kazarian’s greatest moments happened at Impact Wrestling, and at this state of the game, I just think I was the best fit for Impact and Impact was the best fit for me for a variety of reasons I look at the locker room and, and I’m amazed at the amount of talent.
“Um, I have the utmost confidence in the management there. I have the utmost confidence in the, in the creative team there. And, um, I want to help this company grow. Uh, I want to help the brand of Frankie Kazarian grow, and I’m probably more motivated than I’ve ever been in my career at this point.”
Kazarian’s last match in AEW took place on the December 26th episode of Dark Elevation and saw him suffer a loss to rising star Konosuke Takeshita, who was recently approached by Don Callis about joining The Elite.