Booker T Questions Whether WWE Should Re-Hire Lio Rush To Be A Part Of Hit Row
A few talents have recently returned to WWE following their releases in the past couple of years, and the most recent such return belongs to Hit Row. However, there have been questions on if the group will be successful without Swerve Strickland, who was in the group in 2021, but is now one half of the AEW Tag Team Champions with Keith Lee.
"I think they'll figure it out, I think they'll figure it out, but I'll tell you what, man, I think there is somebody out there right now that's knocking on the door, that's looking to get their foot in the door, like a Lio Rush," two-time WWE Hall of Famer "Booker T said on "The Hall of Fame." "Lio Rush put something out, a cryptic tweet, and Lio Rush may be trying to make a return to the WWE ... That's got controversy written all over it."
Rush was with WWE from 2017 until his eventual release in April of 2020 when WWE was doing mass releases due to COVID-19. Rush had several different roles while working for the company, at one point reigning as Cruiserweight Champion after having previously served in a player-coach type of capacity to the current United States Champion Bobby Lashley.
Booker T has advice for Lio Rush moving forward
Other talent such as Dakota Kai, Dexter Lumis, Karrion Kross, and Scarlett have been rehired by WWE since Triple H took over as Head of Creative and Head of Talent Relations for WWE following Vince McMahon's retirement and John Laurinaitis' firing. The thought of Lio Rush coming back to WWE was sparked by him sharing a photo on Instagram of he and Bobby Lashley in a ring together from when he was aligned with "The Almighty."
"The Man of the Hour" has been wrestling outside of WWE since his release, and has announced his retirement a couple of times. However, Rush has come out of retirement following those comments being made. Rush also had a brief stint with AEW, however, long term it would not work out as he only wrestled five matches for the company before leaving in the first couple of months of 2022. This was not the first time that Rush had made news headlines for his actions.
"Things are changing," Booker T said. "If Lio Rush could just shut his mouth for a second he would be okay." Rush last wrestled on January 30th for PWG, defeating Buddy Matthews by disqualification. In that match, Rush unfortunately suffered a dislocation in his left shoulder.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Hall of Fame" podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.