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A recent report suggests that Tony Khan is currently firm about not granting release to his AEW stars from this point on.
Several wrestlers have been the subject of alleged exits in the Jacksonville-based promotion, including The House of Black's Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews.
Black was rumored to have been granted a release, but he eventually clarified that he was given time off by Khan. Earlier in a live Instagram video, The Dutch Destroyer also squashed all the speculation surrounding his status, including WWE rumors, by saying that he will be back in AEW pretty soon.
Meanwhile, reports swirled that Matthews would be taking time off, but it was speculated that he would return to WWE under Triple H's regime as well. However, the Australian star quickly took to social media to debunk the rumors by tweeting that they were fake.
According to Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, he reported that Khan made it clear that there won't be any releases granted to any wrestlers at this particular moment.
"Nobody’s getting released. That’s the doctrine. Tony Khan made that very clear I guess in the last couple of days. So now it’s just, (Malakai Black’s) not being released, Buddy Matthews isn’t being released. Now they may be back sooner than before," Meltzer said. [H/T WrestleTalk]
Meltzer also mentioned that if a wrestler decides to sit at home, the AEW President will extend their current contract, leaving them no choice but to wrestle.
A former AEW Tag Team Champions also clarified their status
The recently dethroned AEW World Tag Team Champions Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) also denied rumors of them returning to WWE.
Strickland was reportedly contacted by the Stamford-based promotion, specifically for a possible reunion with Hit Row. He eventually responded through his lawyer that he wasn't interested.
Meanwhile, Lee also shed light that he wasn't going anywhere by posting a tweet, and advised people to ignore unverified reports.
Check out The Limitless One's tweet below:
It would be interesting to see if Khan's recent verdict would finally put the rumored release of other unnamed wrestlers to rest.
What are your thoughts on Tony Khan's decision not to grant releases to his talents for the foreseeable future? Let us know in the comments section below.
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