The AEW debut of Brian Kendrick has been scrapped after a series of controversial comments by the former WWE Superstar began circulating on social media.
On February 1st it was reported that Brian Kendrick had been released by WWE. Not only that, he would be making his debut with AEW on the February 2nd episode of Dynamite against Jon Moxley.
However, a little over an hour before the show, the match has been cancelled. In a post on social media, AEW President Tony Khan said that the decision had been made in light of “abhorrent and offensive” comments made by Kendrick a decade ago.
At the time Kendrick discussed a number of conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati, Jews and Zionists. He has also previously made comments regarding conspiracies surrounding 9/11, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as well as holding controversial views on the Holocaust.
In response to the comments re-emerging, Tony Khan said there was no place for those views in AEW.
We’ve been made aware of abhorrent & offensive comments made in the past by Brian Kendrick. There’s no room in AEW for the views expressed by Brian. We think it’s best for all that Brian be pulled from tonight’s card as we gather more info. We’ll announce a replacement bout ASAP.
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) February 2, 2022
“The” Brian Kendrick last wrestled in WWE on the October 30th episode of 205 Live, teaming with Mansoor to defeat Ever-Rise. In mid-December he was featured on NXT 2.0 in an angle with Harland that saw the monster throw Kendrick down a flight of steps after attempts to calm down Harland’s destruction.
However, PWInsider noted that Kendrick had been waiting “at least six weeks” for his release and that he hadn’t been in attendance at any NXT tapings in Orlando recently.
Inside The Ropes will continue to update the story as it develops.