Arn Anderson will be departing AEW in a matter of days.
Debuting for the company back in August 2019 at All Out, Anderson will leave All Elite Wrestling when his contract expires on Friday, May 31st 2024. Speaking on Arn Live, the Hall of Famer expressed his gratitude to AEW and to Tony Khan for what he has done for the wrestling industry:
“Well, I haven’t been just blowing my horn or blowing anybody’s horn or blowing this out of the water trying to make a bigger deal out of it than what it is, but one thing people know that I am very appreciative to have been in this business for 42 years. I have often said that this business does not owe me anything, I owe it everything.
Here on the tail end of my career, I have been very fortunate to work for AEW and Tony Khan for the last four years, and I have been under contract. He’s a great, great human being. He has taken the wrestling business and given it another option and another whole different category of what professional wrestling is perceived to be or can be or will be or has been. So I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that worked there. They were all exceptionally great. Tony, we appreciate everything that you’ve done for the business.”
Continuing, Anderson added that the reason for his departure was that he wanted to spend more time with his son Brock Anderson and confirmed his contract would expire at the end of the month before further thanking members of the AEW team:
“The limited time that I have left I want to spend with Brock, because I think Brock has aptitude and attitude. I think he will be A big player for somebody. I just got to get him some experience and that’s where I’m gonna devote my time is to helping develop Brock and teaching him and if he comes along like I think and hope he will, it will be sooner than later. So I just wanted to say thank you to Tony.
Believe it or not, on doubleshot day, the 31st is the last day on my contract. I just want to say thank you. I appreciate everything. That goes to everybody that works there. All my friends, Tony Schiavone, JR, all those guys, all the talent. [Dean Malenko], obviously, Billy Gunn, all that crew. [Jerry Lynn]. Everybody was great. So I just want to say thank you and see you down the road.”
Following the surprise debut that saw Anderson help Cody Rhodes defeat Shawn Spears, the Hall of Famer continued to align himself with The American Nightmare as a head coach and personal advisor. Anderson’s son Brock would later sign with the company and would mainly feature on the Dark YouTube show before his exit in October 2023. Following his son’s departure, Anderson was utilised in a backstage role as a producer.
While coaching Rhodes when The American Nightmare was in AEW, Anderson memorably criticised Rhodes for being a coward and stated that if someone tried to steal his car Rhodes would give up the vehicle but he would pull out the Glock and shoot the thief in the head.
Arn Anderson made his WWE return at SummerSlam, where Cody Rhodes revealed that WWE had made a heartwarming gesture for all of the legends in attendance.
Arn Anderson Becomes Latest Name To Depart AEW
2024 has seen a number of former AEW stars make their exit from the promotion to seek pastures new in the next stage of their careers. Following his loss to Miro at Worlds End in December 2023, it was confirmed that Andrade had chosen to not renew his contract and later made his return to WWE at the Royal Rumble. Ethan Page also exited the company in early May 2024 and made a shock debut on WWE TV later in the month.
Additionally, Mark Henry addressed his AEW status and an AEW original has also exited the company.
H/t to Fightful.