Tony Nese saw the writing on the wall that his days in WWE were numbered.
Tony Nese was the latest guest on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet to discuss his WWE career and what he’s doing now in All Elite Wrestling. When asked if he knew he was going to be released from his WWE contract, Nese knew it was only a matter of time:
“I had one year left on my contract, but I knew [I was getting released],” Tony Nese revealed. “As soon as they moved us to be a part of the NXT roster, me and Ariya Daivari were like it’s just a matter of time. We got these new contracts to the Raw roster is a normal contract, but to the NXT roster is like a whoa contract. We were on the least cared about show in WWE history, and they just kept releasing and releasing. So we knew when it was time to look at NXT, we were going out the door.”
When asked what he wants his new character to be in All Elite Wrestling, Nese already has a vision in mind:
“So the Premier Athlete is still going to be who I am and what I represent,” Tony Nese said. “But I do want it to be a little bit more of a serious thing rather than ‘Hey look at my abs.’ I love being booed and flexing, but at the same time, I switched up my look to where I am wearing more branded stuff. In WWE, I was just trying to pop by getting gear that just looked good. I wore a jacket because they told me I needed something up top. They said ‘You should wear something, but don’t cover up anything.’ For 1 show I wore a He-Man type thing, but nobody thought it looked cool, Vince said ‘Is he wearing a bra out there?’ Straight after I heard that, I threw it into the garbage. But now, I think this is getting old and it doesn’t represent me, I want to be taken more seriously. I want to be my own brand, that’s the attitude I’m going in with. I still will be kissing my biceps and flexing though.”
After he appeared on the Saturday, October 23 episode of Dynamite, Tony Nese also confirmed he signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion also explained how the appearance on Dynamite was set up; read his comments about being the “hottest free agent” at this link. Nese will make his in-ring debut for AEW on the November 2 episode of AEW Dark against Fuego Del Sol.
READ MORE: Tony Nese Says He Hid Bicep Injury From WWE So He Wouldn’t Get Released
Are you surprised that WWE released Tony Nese? What do you hope to see him achieve in All Elite Wrestling? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
