AEW President Tony Khan has signed a lot of former WWE stars after they were released by the rival promotion including Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee.
Lee was let go after a three-year run with the promotion last November while two weeks later, Strickland was also released despite making his main roster debut alongside Hit Row shortly before then. After waiting out their non-compete clauses, Lee and Swerve joined AEW.
During an interview with Rasslin’ with Brandon F. Walker, Khan questioned any company that would even think about releasing these two stars.
“Also, speaking of established stars coming in, Swerve Strickland and right before that Keith Lee. I can’t believe these guys got fired by any wrestling company in the world. I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking if you run a wrestling company and you don’t have a spot for Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. I get that there are only so many positions in a company but I think any company that has those guys and, you know, it wasn’t like they’re unreasonable guys. They’re great! I love both guys. They’ve been a huge part of what we’re doing here now, too.”
Khan also talked about Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE, Jade Cargill’s potential, and more.