“I need to just sever ties and go”- Current World Champion reflects on AEW departure

A current World Champion recently opened up about asking for his release from AEW a few years ago. The star also recalled how people in the company were taken aback.

The current TNA World Champion, Frankie Kazarian, recalls asking for his AEW release. The 48-year-old veteran was with Tony Khan's promotion from 2019 until his departure in late 2022. Kazarian later made his TNA return and recently won the world title in the promotion as well.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insights, Frankie Kazarian recalled how he asked for his AEW release in December 2022:

“I just re-signed for another three years. And then December of 2022, I get a call from a representative in the office, and they’re like, ‘Hey, just wanna let you know we’re gonna roll you over and we’ll just see.’ I go, ‘Whoa, wait about that. I don’t want that to happen.’ They’re kind of taken aback, and had a long conversation. I said, ‘Look, honestly, I would like you if I could just get my release.’"

Frankie further revealed how the company made him some offers before his eventual release:

"‘Well, what if we do like a per-show? What if we do this?’ I go, thank you, but I need to bet on myself. I need to just sever ties and go. A little bit of back and forth, and eventually the message came down to go, Okay, well TK respects you as a man and as a wrestler, and if this is what you want, we can do your release. Can you please have it to me in writing by today? Because I hadn’t talked to anybody, WWE, TNA, I just needed out. I needed that safety net pulled away.” [H/T chrisvanvliet.com]

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Frankie Kazarian on how AEW were taken aback

In the same interview, Frankie Kazarian also revealed how AEW was taken aback by him asking for his release, because nobody except Cody Rhodes had left the company at that point:

"...They were, I don’t want to say shocked, because it’s not like I’m such a giant star, but they were like, just taken aback, because nobody had left AEW this point, Cody did. Cody had left a few months before. So it was like, wow," Frankie recalled. [H/T chrisvanvliet.com]

Meanwhile, Frankie Kazarian is the TNA World Champion while being under contract with the company. Only time will tell what the future has in store for him.

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Edited by Gaurav Singh