Konnan Criticizes Bandido & Rush For 'Abusing Their Power'
AEW stars Bandido and Rush made news last week, with both luchadores leaving AEW's partner, Lucha Libre AAA. Bandido departed after working a show for The Crash Lucha Libre in Tijuana, while Rush quit, claiming in a social media post that the promotion wouldn't use his father, luchador Bestia del Ring.
The move caused an uproar, as Rush was scheduled to team with L.A. Park to face Psycho Clown and Sam Adonis at TripleMania XXXI: Tijuana, with the losing team facing off in a mask versus hair match at TripleMania XXXI: Mexico City in August.
Now, days later, Konnan is giving his side of the story. On "K100," the AAA booker offered a strong response, particularly towards Bandido's departure, claiming he had plans for the AEW luchador in AAA before Bandido left for The Crash without telling him, saying Bandido wasn't a man of his word. Konnan also claimed that Bandido had more unprofessional habits than just that.
Konnan gives his side of the story
"He [Bandido] had the very bad habit, which I find very unprofessional, of every time I'm looking for him for work, he doesn't answer the f*****g phone," Konnan said. "Like, I'm doing him a favor. I'm not going to hunt you down to get you work. He did that when he was in Ring of Honor too.
"A lot of these wrestlers, they got to the United States, get a big head, and they start charging with their ego, not what the market can support. They don't give a f**k 'cause they're in the United States. But when Ring of Honor closed, oh, there they were, looking for work. What happens in AEW if they cut you or you get injured or something happens? I'm not going to f*****g forget."
Konnan was a bit more subdued in his criticism regarding Rush's departure, saying it was over a miscommunication and that creative issues prevented AAA from using Rush more. Nevertheless, Konnan wasn't totally soft on the La Faccion Ingobernables member either, calling out the AEW star for having too high a price tag, and for also handling his AAA departure in an unprofessional manner. Ultimately, Konnan suggested success in America led to things going to Rush and Bandido's heads.
Too High Of A Price Tag?
"He was mad because we weren't using him enough, but one of the things is ... they [LFI] had a feud ... it was against the Dynamite Brothers," Konnan said. "Now one of the Dynamite Brothers is the guy [El Cuatrero] that they put in jail for supposedly choking that girl wrestler. So it's very hard to do anything 'cause this guy's in jail. I thought he was going to get out quick, so I was waiting for him to get out, so I wasn't getting them work.
"Plus Rush, bro, he charges a lot of f*****g money. And it's, like, bro, you're not in the United States. I have a budget. And when I put you on the show, you eat a quarter of my f*****g thing. I'd rather bring in two or three other wrestlers. I thought what he did was very unprofessional, and I also had another wrestler try to pull that s**t with me not too recently, and I'm not going to forget that either. But, you know, they get power, they're in the United States, and they abuse their f*****g power and they do s**t like this."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "K100" and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.