Recent All Elite Wrestling acquisition Lio Rush has revealed that his relationship with new boss Tony Khan is much healthier than the relationship he had with former bosses Triple H and Vince McMahon.
Rush opened up about what drew him to AEW during a recent chat with fellow former WWE employee Renee Paquette on her Oral Sessions podcast. In the episode, Rush spoke very highly of Tony Khan and said the AEW president made him feel wanted after he had been laid off by WWE.
"That was the main thing for me. I think it would be the same for everyone that got released. At that time, we felt unwanted and felt like we were trash," Rush said. "I didn't want to sign anywhere unless I was wanted. I wanted to feel like I was a valuable asset to the company and he reassured me of all of that."
Rush continued to praise Khan and seemed to relive to be working for someone with whom he gets along. "Tony is such a great guy," he proclaimed. "That played a huge part in me wanting to be in AEW too. I didn't want another boss like Vince [McMahon]. I didn't want another boss like Hunter [Triple H]. People have different opinions about Hunter, but we always butt heads for different reasons," he added. "I didn't feel like that with Tony."
As you might recall, there were numerous reports of Lio having backstage heat during his WWE tenure which makes the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion's comments about butting heads with Triple H all the more interesting.
As you might recall, Lio Rush made his AEW debut during the Casino Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing on May 30th. Rush was under contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling, but AEW president Tony Khan claimed there was a "handshake deal" in place between all parties prior to the event. In a stroke of terrible luck, Rush sustained a shoulder injury in the Casino Batte Royale and subsequently announced that he would be stepping away from the world of professional wrestling. Rush's intended hiatus never actually came to fruition, and the 26-year-old returned to New Japan just a few weeks after Double Or Nothing and subsequently returned to AEW on the September 29 edition of Dynamite.