Former AEW Star Hopes Others Will Be Inspired By His Departure

AEW

Former AEW Tag Team Champion Frankie Kazarian is hopeful that people backstage will be inspired by his AEW departure.

At IMPACT Hard To Kill on January 13, Kazarian confirmed that he had left AEW and signed with IMPACT full-time.

Kazarian stated that he had to decide whether to remain complacent or push himself, and he chose to push himself.

The wrestling veteran reportedly requested his AEW release following his IMPACT World Title bout against Josh Alexander in November 2022.

Speaking with 411Mania.com, Kazarian discussed the impact that he hopes his departure has on those still with AEW, noting:

“I mean, a lot of guys are locked in for a while. I mean I was locked in.

“But again, if I can fall on the sword, quote unquote, to give people inspiration if they feel like they are sitting on the bench when they should be on the starting lineup, if me doing what I did can inspire somebody to kind of raise their hand and say, “Hey, what about me? This isn’t what I signed up to do”, then that’s great.

“But that has to be up to the talent. Again, a lot of guys are happy just being kind of in the middle of the pack and making good money and just being on the roster.

“Sometimes that’s enough for people. Oftentimes it’s not. It certainly wasn’t for me. But when you have that big of a roster and the roster they’ve assembled is huge and it’s full of incredible talent, it’s bound to happen that certain people are going to be lost in the shuffle.

“How each individual feels about that varies. It depends on how much they believe in themselves, how much effort they want to put in. You only get out of this what you put into it.

“So again, if me doing what I did, my story, my decision can inspire anybody, I’m all for it. Again, like I said, if you bet on yourself, that’s a safe bet. And, you know, we all know what is going to bring us happiness.

“So, you know, a lot of guys might be happy where they’re at. Some guys and girls may want more for themselves, and I’m all for that. Go out and get it, man.”

IMPACT has now confirmed that a former WWE star has signed a multi-year deal with the promotion.

Quote via WrestlingNews.co.

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• talent
• frankie kazarian
• AEW
• IMPACT

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