Jay Lethal On Why He Didn’t Join AEW When The Promotion Was Starting Up

Jay Lethal has reflected on his wrestling career, explaining why he didn’t join AEW when the promotion was starting up in 2019.

Lethal notably featured during All In, the 2018 event often viewed as the precursor to AEW. Speaking on Talk Is Jericho, Lethal revealed that he was offered the opportunity to become All Elite ahead of the promotion’s official launch.

Recalling the ROH departures of The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Hangman Page, Lethal noted that he wanted to repay ROH for always looking after him, so remained loyal to the promotion.

Believing that he did the right thing, Lethal said:

“That was a massive exodus of a good, solid group of people that were drawing the fans there.  When this exodus, this massive leaving happened, my heart broke.  This was also during a contract renegotiation time for me.  An offer was made for me, and they extended the offer to me to say, ‘Hey, come with us (to AEW).’  I didn’t take it obviously, and here’s why.  Throughout my entire Ring of Honor career, it really feels like they’ve laid out the red carpet for not only me, but my family.  They’ve always gone above and beyond.  I can’t think of a single bad thing to say about them.

“When all these guys were leaving, and I don’t want it to seem like I’m some savior, but when all those guys left, I literally thought about the state of the company, and not only that, but the state of that my friends would be left in because I’m friends with everybody there.  I thought, ‘Well, I can’t do it all by myself, but at least if I’m here, I can try and help because I really feel like the company is going to suffer’.  They have been good to me.  Let me repay the favor.  That’s the only reason that I stayed.  I wanted to go so bad.  I already knew from the start what was going to happen, but yea, my loyalty, even today I feel like it was the right thing to do.”

Lethal debuted for AEW at Full Gear last month. He will return to ROH tonight for Final Battle, ROH’s last live event before the promotion’s hiatus.

Quote via WrestlingNews.co. 

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