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Former WWE Superstar Tony Nese has detailed how his initial AEW appearance materialized and how Tony Khan arranged his contract less than an hour before his debut.
The Premier Athlete was released from his WWE contract in June 2021 and spent the summer traveling around the American independent circuit. He eventually popped up on AEW TV in October 2021 and has since been integral to the promotion.
Nese was spotted in the crowd during the October 23rd, 2021, edition of Dynamite. It was later revealed that after a handful of matches on Dark, he had signed a full-time contract with AEW.
On the latest edition of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Tony Nese said that he was in the Orlando area to pay a visit to Tony Khan. However, that meeting eventually led to Nese joining the roster and being put on TV half an hour later.
"[Tony Khan]'s like, do you want to sit out in the crowd?' I took a step back and was, 'You want me to be a fan? What's going on?' I was super confused. 'No, we're going to put you out there, we're going to make a big deal out of it, what's Tony Nese doing here?' Okay, great, I thought I was just here to hang out and talk to everyone. Minutes after that, they pulled me aside, we talked out a deal and it literally was like 30 minutes before."
Nese noted that one of the first times he was shown on camera was following an incident where Lance Archer suffered an injury during his match. He added that it was an awkward moment for him.
"I see the red light and camera and go, 'Oh no.' I had so many options, I could make a face, maybe that's a meme and everyone laughs, but in my head, I don't know the severity of the situation, so the last thing I want to do is make something about me and all of a sudden we find out that someone is badly injured. Literally, I was like, 'I have no idea what to do.' I'm staring off in the distance, 'Someone, please make that red light go away." (H/T Fightful)
Tony Nese has challenged for many championships during his time in AEW
Having been in All Elite Wrestling for over a year at the time of writing, it's fair to say that Tony Nese has witnessed a lot of ups and downs.
However, The Premier Athlete has found himself in and around the championship scene on more than one occasion, including his first match on AEW television.
After securing a few wins on AEW Dark, Nese challenged Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship on the December 3rd, 2021, edition of Rampage. However, he was unsuccessful in securing the title.
Nese then unsuccessfully challenged for the TNT, Tag Team, and ROH Pure Championships against Wardlow, The Acclaimed, and Wheeler Yuta, respectively.
Have you enjoyed Tony Nese's run in All Elite Wrestling so far? Let us know in the comments section down below.
