Karl Anderson And Luke Gallows Detail Why They Didn't Join AEW

The team of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson sat down with Chris Van Vliet to discuss a lot of hot topics surrounding them in the current professional wrestling world. This included why they didn't make their post-WWE debut on AEW and instead, chose to make their home Impact Wrestling. This also brought up the conversation of AJ Styles and how his influence helped kept them in WWE longer than they wanted.

"Well, September of 2019 we had been talking, and talking, and talking to [AEW]. There was a very, very, very generous offer on the table, and then, you know, WWE does what WWE sometimes does and they backed the bank truck up to the house and gave us a guarantee that was, I guess, too nice at the time for us to pass on," Gallows laid out to Van Vliet.

"[I now know] that it wasn't the right decision, but now I can honestly say, everything does happen for a reason because we're happy with how things turned out," he added. "But it sucked that we were that close to leaving and we didn't, and we didn't bet on ourselves, and we stuck around, and we took their money, and we saw what happened when the pandemic occurred."

Money and the Coronavirus pandemic ended up being a strong determining factor in reaching the end of their WWE tenure. But bitterness does not seem to be Gallows' lasting taste from his time in the company.

"When I think that certain people who we've already spoke on – we don't need to go back on it again – are trying to save, you know, five or six talent that maybe their money adds up to the two of us. We got put on a list we might not have originally been on, and hey," Gallows stated, spinning it toward the brighter side, "it is what it is. But now, here we are. Slammiversary was a smashing success, the TV tapings were great, and we're headed to Talk N Shop A Mania."

The money and the timing weren't all that kept them in the WWE, however. The aforementioned relationship with AJ Styles was also a strong part, something Karl Anderson would step in to briefly speak about.

"I don't want to put it all on AJ," Anderson began. "But AJ was very, very, very influential in us staying, and that's not a bad thing."

It seems AJ Styles was very apologetic for their release and took it personally. Gallows wouldn't allow that to rest on AJ's shoulders though.

"But he didn't know either and I think that's why he felt so bad about it. And we're grown men." Gallows argued in favor of his friend. "It's nobody else's responsibility. But he just was like, 'I feel so bad. I convinced you guys to stay and told you everything is going to be alright and then it wasn't.' But we're not mad at him. We were never mad at him for two seconds."

This lines up with what Styles himself has said on the matter. But regardless of the politics and their release, business is business to Gallows.

"I mean, it's wrestling. It's entertainment and the wheel keeps on turning, and the fun part for me," Gallows said. "Maybe not as much for [Karl] right on the gate. I was like, 'Well how do we make that much money and wrestle less and do all this fun outside s–t?' And I've gotten a big kick out of doing that, and I think we're actually going to do better."

This greater good of sorts for The Good Brothers has kept Gallows and Anderson focused on what's ahead following their releases.

"So, I mean, there's something to be said for all of that too, and you just have to kick it into gear and become a businessman and put it all out there. And I think that's exactly what we are doing. So, I mean, that's just being a good friend." Gallows reasoned about Styles. "You know that he felt bad because he's a real human being. Unlike, you know, some people we've come across in this business that we discussed in an earlier interview.

"So I appreciate him feeling that way, but we never placed any blame on him for it because he thought it was going to be as great as they were telling us it was going to be. So it is what it is, and he saw the amount of money went, 'Guys, I agree. That's your lay down money'."

You can view the full interview above. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Mehdy Labriny contributed to this article.