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Lio Rush became one of the most unlikely controversial figures when joining the WWE roster. Triple H’s approach to signing all top free agents and independent wrestlers led to Rush getting his dream job at a young age. Many fans already forget Lio’s time in WWE since it felt so fast despite him being placed in quite a few different roles.
Rush certainly has all the talent in the world to reach top peaks in wrestling, but his WWE run ended poorly. Rumors and reports leaked quite often about Lio having backstage heat for various reasons. The back and forth in his roles also added another unexpected dynamic for a difficult journey. Rush’s tumultuous time in WWE deserves another look back at what went wrong.
Lio Rush Joined NXT With High Expectations
WWE signed Lio Rush at the young age of 23 after a great stint in Ring of Honor and wrestling all over the independent circuit. Lio made a name faster than most due to a unique style doing things no one else did, leading to great matches. Triple H wanted to sign as many noteworthy free agents as possible for both instant NXT depth and to set up a future with the talents moving up to the main roster.
The first role for Rush in WWE featured NXT appearances and a spot on the cruiserweight 205 Live show. WWE didn’t know how to introduce Lio to new fans with both roles being inconsistent and a deep roster of other signings before him getting a chance first. Things grew worse for Rush when he made a controversial tweet joking about Emma getting fired after facing Asuka to gain huge backstage heat.
Multiple WWE wrestlers publicly insulted him for being that disrespectful towards a peer losing their job. Lio did apologize, but this played a role in the lack of a presence on television with the already uncertain role. WWE signed Rush with more in mind than what we saw during those first few months.
Lio Rush Managed Bobby Lashley Before Becoming The Cruiserweight Champion
The biggest opportunity for Lio Rush came when he was the new hype man/manager for Bobby Lashley. A double turn with Lashley and Kevin Owens saw fans treating the former as a hated villain partially due to Rush’s heel work. WWE had Lio cutting promos or even just chanting Lashley’s name over and over to intentionally annoy the audience into hating them both.
Lashley and Rush had great chemistry with the personality of Lio showing for the first time in WWE. The Intercontinental Championship reign of Lashley worked perfectly due to his act with Rush getting over. However, backstage heat and other issues caused that partnership to end faster than expected. Lashley ditched Lio and moved into new storylines with Lana and MVP managing him.
Rush was off screen for quite some time with an imposed sabbatical and many negative stories attached to his name. WWE brought Lio back to NXT and had him win the Cruiserweight Championship that was now featured on their brand. Rush had great matches, but there was a stall in his momentum. WWE eventually fired Lio, with him among the deeper list of names cut during the pandemic.
Controversy Doomed Lio Rush’s Run In WWE And AEW
Lio Rush always seemed to be in the wrestling news headlines for all the wrong reasons. The backstage heat over the Emma tweet was just the start of his rocky backstage relationship with WWE’s locker room. Reports leaked about veterans feeling Lio was disrespectful towards them and many even felt that he crossed the line by bringing his wife to shows with him.
Rush’s wife hanging out like part of the company wasn’t taken well by management either. Lio expressed frustration with the negativity surrounding his name and even had Finn Balor vouch for him against the online reports. However, other moves like taking WWE information out of his social media bios showed his displeasure. Both parties seemed annoyed with each other until Rush was finally released from his deal.
Unfortunately, more confusion has followed Lio’s career with an equally controversial AEW run ending after calling out Tony Khan during the Big Swole controversy, retiring, then returning and getting released, all in a short time. Rush is still having strong matches on the indie circuit, but the WWE controversy still follows him. Few wrestlers had as many tumultuous moments as Lio did with story after story creating doubt. The situation showed for both parties that not everyone is suited to enjoy the WWE lifestyle.