Lio Rush was the surprise entrant into AEW’s Casino Battle Royale last night at Double or Nothing. Rush’s contract status was addressed after the event on an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.
“Lio Rush actually has signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling,” said Dave Meltzer on the show. He continued to talk about if we will see more of Rush in AEW.
“He would be in Japan a lot except he can’t go but I didn’t know that,” Meltzer continued. “New Japan obviously have allowed him to do the show, so essentially he’s a New Japan guy. He may work more shows with AEW but he’s not like signed by AEW nor will he be signed by AEW, he’s a New Japan guy.”
Rush recently made it to the semi-finals of a tournament on New Japan Strong to determine the first-ever New Japan Strong Openweight Champion. He was defeated by Brodie King who would eventually be eliminated in the finals by champion, Tom Lawlor.
Rush has also been competing in MLW as of late as well. He won and then lost the MLW World Middleweight Championship to Myron Reed of the Injustice faction in recent months.
The 26-year-old spent from 2017 to 2020 with WWE. He’s a former 1x NXT Cruiserweight Champion in the promotion.