AEW News: Chris Jericho Said He Pushed Company To Sign Former WWE Superstar
Due to the sheer amount of talented performers in WWE, it’s not possible for every superstar to get television time on every show. However, former superstar Luke Harper — who now goes by the name Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling — went eight months without appearing on television, presumably because Vince McMahon wasn’t a fan of him. However, when the former superstar requested his release from the company in 2019, WWE’s newest rival took notice.
On the latest episode of Talk Is Jericho, by the way of Ringside News, Chris Jericho interviewed Lee about his time in WWE. During the conversation, Jericho said that he approached AEW president Tony Khan about signing the performer last year, but since Lee’s request for release was denied, AEW was forced to wait to sign him. Lee finally joined the company two weeks ago, after being let go from WWE in December.
“When you first asked for your release the first guy that I called was Tony. I’m like, ‘Dude, what do we think about this guy? We should get him.’ If they released every single person in WWE we wouldn’t take every single person. There’s very few we would get, but there are certain guys where we see them and go, ‘This is a guy who was nothing there that can be something here.'”
HE'S HERE… THE EXALTED ONE IS HERE!! #JOINDARKORDER #AEWDynamite on @tntdrama pic.twitter.com/EIPoMzvM5e
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) March 19, 2020
However, Jericho isn’t the only influential person in WWE who was keen on signing Lee. As The Inquisitr previously reported, executive vice president Cody Rhodes has also been vocal about his admiration for the superstar and dropped hints months ago that the company would sign him as soon as he became available.
It’s evident that Khan was also interested in recruiting Lee, as he has been immediately thrust into a major program on AEW television. He was immediately unveiled as the leader of the Dark Order faction upon joining the company, and it looks like he’s going to receive a major push in the coming months. Lee’s recent television segments have also reportedly angered some members of the wrestling community, as he’s been taking shots at Vince McMahon.
As The Inquisitr previously documented, Lee said he was buried in WWE following a botched segment with AJ Styles during a Battle Royale match. According to the former WWE superstar, he knew his career was over with the company as soon as it happened, even though they kept him around for a while afterward.
