Lio Rush Explains Why His First AEW Run Was A Disaster, Says It Was Nobody’s Fault

Lio Rush had too much fear during his first run with AEW.

The former Cruiserweight Champion has had a stop-start career with AEW so far. He originally debuted at Double or Nothing 2021, but an injury before he could sign full-time stopped him from having a proper run in the company.

However, he returned to the company in November that year. Lio Rush partnered Dante Martin in his feud with Team Taz. Sadly, that ended suddenly in January 2022, when he was taken off TV and removed from the storyline, and his contract expired weeks later.

Lio Rush appeared on AEW Unrestricted (H/T to Fightful for the transcription) to talk about why his first run in AEW failed. He revealed that he was scared going into it, being so young.

He claimed that it was “nobody’s fault”, and it simply wasn’t the right time for him. Lio Rush added he feels more confident and wiser now, so this next attempt at a run in AEW should be more successful.

“I think last time, I had a lot of fear.” Lio Rush said. “I think I was going into it scared. It almost felt like I was getting another opportunity at being Lio Rush on television. But it almost didn’t feel fair that I had to do it in this way. I was still so young. I was going through so much during that time, that was during the pandemic so everything outside of what AEW was was obviously going on and it was kind of just a disaster off the jump. “

Lio Rush: It Was Not The Right Time

“It was nobody’s fault. I think it just was not the right time. I don’t think it was the right time for me, I don’t think it was the right time for AEW to have me right there in the mental state that I was in. It wasn’t fair for both parties. I’m in a space where I feel confident. I feel a lot wiser, I feel a lot more prepared than I was before. And I know what I can bring to the table and I want to offer that. I want to be a part of what AEW is doing and I want to be a part of the people that make AEW what it is. I’m just going into it with a much different mindset. I think that’s the biggest difference.”