Heath Slater reveals why he rejected a return to WWE in 2020

In a recent interview, Heath Slater revealed that he turned down an offer to return to WWE last year.

Heath Slater was released by WWE in April 2020 along with a number of other Superstars and staff as the promotion made cuts due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Heath's release marked the end of his 14-year run in the WWE.

The former WWE star was recently a guest on The Angle Podcast. During the interview, Heath revealed that WWE had offered him a chance to return to the promotion last year — an offer he turned down. The offer was for about half the money Heath was making in the past at WWE. As a result, he decided not to take up the deal. Heath explained (H/T: Fightful):

"They offered me one back, but it was like half of what I was making. I was like, ‘Nah, I need to find myself and do other things and just chill. Just breathe and relax and spend time with the family. Just chill.’ I never burned any bridges up there, they all know me. I still talk to more than half the people [in WWE]. I was there for so long and we were friends. It’s no hard feelings. I told them, ‘I just want to go and do my thing for a little bit.’ They were like, ‘We don’t blame you, you get it.’ That was it."

"I talked to IMPACT, New Japan, and ROH. I talked with AEW after I went with IMPACT. They just wanted me to come in for a three-week thing to do some things. I was already committed with IMPACT."

Heath Slater in IMPACT Wrestling after his WWE release

Heath made his IMPACT Wrestling debut in July 2020 at Slammiversary, declaring that he was a free agent. Heath's first in-ring match at IMPACT was a title shot against Moose, which he ended up losing. Heath was then involved in a storyline with a former tag partner in WWE, Rhino.

It will be interesting to see what 2021 has in store for Heath and IMPACT Wrestling.