Ex-WWE Star Teases Interest In Working For AEW
Now that many of the wrestlers released from WWE in September 2023 have hit the free agent market, many are wondering who, if any, will be picked up by other promotions, such as AEW. So far, AEW hasn't bitten on any names, though there is at least one former WWE star, in the form of Mansoor, who hopes they will bite on him.
In an interview with "Denise Salcedo," Mansoor was asked whether he'd be interested in joining the promotion, or if he had any conversations with them. While Mansoor didn't comment on the latter question, he expressed a ton of appreciation for AEW and interest in them, largely due to how the promotion proved to be a lifesaver for other wrestlers who lost their jobs in the past.
"I love AEW," Mansoor said. "Primarily because I have a lot of really close friends who for whatever reason don't work for WWE anymore, and their families are fed and taken care of because of AEW and Tony Khan and their team. So for that, I'll always be eternally grateful, especially for the people who got let go during the pandemic.
There are people who would've been deported. I mean, there are people who would've had to leave America if not for the fact that they got a work visa, in some cases [from] AEW, in some cases [from] Impact. So for that reason, I mean, I will always be gratuitous that those options exist and that AEW exists as that sort of alternative because it's so incredibly important."
Mansoor Says His Upcoming Run Will 'Shock' People
While Mansoor is a big fan of AEW and open to working for them, he's mostly chomping at the bit to wrestle anywhere at the moment. This is because Mansoor feels he has a point to prove regarding people's idea of him as a wrestler.
"I always kind of felt like, and I hate talking about myself in this way, but I do really feel like this run, on the indies, and wherever that takes me around the world, is going to be so instrumental in sort of creating a perception of me that I feel is more accurate to who I am," Mansoor said. "I feel like I haven't had a performance that I can really, really, really be proud of in the ring since that Mustafa Ali match. And before that, it was Cesaro.
"It was so few and far between, but now I feel like 'I'm going to go to every single town and every single country, and I'm going to shock people. I'm going to have Match of the Night everywhere I go.' And people are going to laugh. They're going to say 'Mansoor? Yeah right.' But you're going to be surprised, I promised. You're going to be super surprised. I am going out there like a man with a mission, 100%. And I hope I get to do that in AEW and Impact/TNA, all these companies that will have me, because I want to show as many people as possible what they're missing."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Denise Salcedo" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription