A now former AEW star has criticised company President Tony Khan for his handling of their departure.
Marko Stunt made his AEW debut back in 2019 at the first-ever Double or Nothing event, appearing as part of the Casino Battle Royale.
Following his debut, Stunt aligned himself with Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus, forming Jurassic Express. The trio became a regular feature on AEW programming for a number of months. However, following the signing of Christian Cage things changed.
Cage eventually became something of a mentor and manager of the group, effectively replacing Stunt, who disappeared from television without any real explanation. Upon the expiration of his contract in May 2022, Stunt left the company, eight months after his last wrestling appearance.
Speaking during a new interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Ten Count, Stunt discussed his relationship with AEW President Tony Khan. The former Jurassic Express star said that while they initially enjoyed a good relationship, that changed as time progressed.
“I never really had any communication at the end, so I didn’t know if I was getting let go or renewed or anything,” he revealed. “I sent out an email and didn’t get a response, I texted him and didn’t get a response.”
Despite this, Stunt explained that he did reach out to Khan when it came time for him to leave, and he did get a reply.
“I was like, ‘Hey man, I just want to thank you for all the opportunities,’ because it was a fantastic opportunity … I lived my dream, so, I wanted to thank him for that, and he did text me back and was like, ‘Hey man, thank you for everything. Sorry we couldn’t get a spot for you moving forward’”
Reflecting on the reason for his departure, Stunt was revealed that he was told he was let go for budgetary reasons.
“I was told budget reasoning and that plans had just changed for what they wanted to do. Yeah, so, that was really the only thing they told me,” he said. “It was kind of a general let go like, ‘Oh hey, we’re not able to do this.’”
In recent weeks, Christian Cage has turned Jurassic Express on it’s head. The star attacked Jungle Boy after the team lost the AEW World Tag Team Titles, and now seems to determined to lead Luchasaurus on a path of destruction through AEW.
While explaining his actionS on Dynamite, Cage warned that Jungle Boy should “remember what happened to Marko.” Something Stunt has since described as “lame.”
H/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.