An AEW star has fulfilled their commitments early prior to their contract expiration.
At the end of November, AEW original QT Marshall publicly stated on social media that 2023 would be his last year with the promotion. Thanking everyone for making the company a success, Marshall stated that he had “officially resigned from AEW and will have fulfilled all obligations by the end of 2023.” According to a new update, it appears that these obligations have already been met.
As reported by Fightful Select, even though Marshall’s contract expires on January 1st 2024, he has already “effectively finished up” with AEW and has not been seen backstage at tapings for weeks. In regards to further interest from outside promotions, Fightful Select also notes that there has been interest, including plans involving Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, which was recently filed for trademark by the Nightmare Factory, the wrestling school owned and operated by Marshall and Cody Rhodes.
Why Did QT Marshall Resign From AEW?
One of the key members of personnel behind the scenes, many were taken by surprise when Marshall announced his imminent departure. However, multiple sources have reported that the motivation behind Marshall’s resignation was that he was not being featured enough on TV as a wrestler and he still wants to compete while he can, frequently expressing frustration backstage at the lack of in-ring time.
Following the resignation announcement, Dave Meltzer said the following on the matter back in November:
QT wants to be a wrestling star. And it wasn’t going to happen in AEW, I know, he expressed frustration to a lot of people about that, you know, feeling, you know, he’s had good matches, but, you know, he’s not been positioned to be a wrestling star there. And I don’t know where he could go. Not only are there a lot of places to go, but he’s 38 years old.
While some have speculated that Marshall may approach WWE in 2024 due to his close relationship with Rhodes, it is unlikely that the 38-year-old wrestler will be featured in a prominent position as an active star, but may be used in a backstage role.