Lio Rush Talks WWE Releasing Him During COVID-19 Pandemic
On a recent episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily, Lio Rush was asked about WWE releasing him along with several other employees and wrestlers earlier this year.
Here is what he had to say:
Lio Rush on whether he was surprised my his WWE release: “During the pandemic, yes, it surprised me. Am I surprised that they released me? I don’t think I am. I’m not surprised that they released me, but I am surprised that they released me along with 100 plus people during the pandemic. That’s pretty shi–y. Like I said, things happen for a reason. I’m sure my reason is going to come up really really soon if it hasn’t already. So things are moving in a positive direction for me. Me being let go by WWE, it was not something that was so pivotal that it changed my life forever and now I’m ruined and I can’t do anything.”
On the disconnect with WWE management: “I’m not gonna say that there weren’t mistakes made by me. I’m sure that even if I was right or wrong, I feel like on my part maybe, it could have been handled a little bit differently. I think my feelings with certain situations were right, and I had a right to feel that way, but I’m not going to just put the blame completely on one person on one side of the story. There’s a difference between somebody who’s been doing this for years and for a long time and somebody in my position that started out when I was 18 years old and accomplished so many things in the time span that I accomplished them.
“I hate bringing this up, and I never want this to be a topic of discussion, but in my world, it plays a part. It plays a part being young. It plays a part being a young African-American, and it plays a part with me being confident in myself. And I feel like a lot of the confusion with everybody–there’s a very fine line between cockiness and confidence, and I feel like a lot of people think that I’m more on the cocky side because I am so young, but I just believe in myself. I held myself to a certain point where I put my all into whatever I’m doing, and I push myself. And a lot of people don’t like that I guess. I’m not sure, but if I wasn’t that way, I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in today. I wouldn’t have accomplished the things that I’ve accomplished, so I’m not ashamed of being who I am because it has made me successful.”