Where is Lio Rush? (Leaving next month)

[Abdullah]

It’s kinda weird that they gave Dante back to Matt Sydal, given Dante already had a story going with Lio. That whole saga is a bit of a mess.

[kingoftheindies]

Lio did an interview with SRS last week and said he and Tony are on good terms so likely want to separate him from Dante at this time.

Plus I think he has an album coming out or it just came out so maybe stuff with that also contributed

[markymark]

Lio and Dante partnership was catching fire but at the same time Lio acting skills arent good, having Sydal and Moriarty being involved in the Team Taz 3 works for me.

[holyshida]

My first thought was he was getting punished because of the twitter response to TK and Swole. Probably should've went to TK privately instead of making a public showcase

[Abdullah]

Jan 20, 2022 7:50:11 GMT -5 holyshida said:

My first thought was he was getting punished because of the twitter response to TK and Swole. Probably should’ve went to TK privately instead of making a public showcase

The only thing weird about it is that they seemed to have given Lio’s story to someone else without mentioning Lio on-screen.

It made me raise an eyebrow, given everything that’s gone on.

[nihilismizhawt]

Jan 20, 2022 8:01:22 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

Jan 20, 2022 7:50:11 GMT -5 holyshida said:

My first thought was he was getting punished because of the twitter response to TK and Swole. Probably should’ve went to TK privately instead of making a public showcase

The only thing weird about it is that they seemed to have given Lio’s story to someone else without mentioning Lio on-screen.

It made me raise an eyebrow, given everything that’s gone on.

People can speculate, I certainly did, but even before the Dante-Hobbs match, Lio was in the graphic for Dante Martin as his second for the match. This was after his tweet. If he was being punished, they would have just had Dante by himself. Day of the show, he's not there, Jay Lethal helps him. Now Sydal and Moriarty are a part of the story. As someone else said, Lio did an interview and said he and TK were cool. Now did something happen the day of last weeks Dynamite that changed everything? Thats most likely.

Here is an interview with Lio from this week.

www.fightful.com/wrestling/exclusives/lio-rush-discusses-his-aew-contract-and-working-various-promotions

He seems like a guy who's really independent, and people will try to make things about something else, but that doesnt seem like someone being punished, but who knows. Might be.

[polarbearpete]

It’s certainly not good optics that he was seemingly pulled from the angle after his tweets to Khan. Might be an innocent reason but it doesn’t look great.

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Honestly, if he is being punished I expect he'll be back sooner or later, but the guy is not hurt. He's at GCW this weekend, so that kind of makes me think he's just serving a quick few weeks off TV for adding an extra layer to that story.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

It's actually creepy how much everyone is talking around him and avoiding saying his name. He's saying that things are good but the on screen execution is unnerving.

[Deleted]

There was a lot of discussion about this on the live thread for last week's Dynamite. I thought about making a thread, but after discussion with the mods thought it best to just "wait and see," rather than inviting speculation on why Lio has apparently been dropped from the storyline.

I've made no secret of the fact that Lio is my favorite active wrestler, and I was initially really miffed at the (seemingly likely) possibility that he was being removed from television due to his speaking out against the way TK handled the Big Swole incident. But, after a week, that really doesn't seem likely to be what's actually going on. Lio Tweeted shortly after the Swole incident saying that he had spoken to Tony and they had come to a mutual understanding, and that he was optimistic about 2022 and looking forward to continuing to promote diversity in AEW. Given Lio's history and personality, it would be shocking if he was subsequently punished and hasn't said anything about it.

Then, in interviews since then, he has seemingly confirmed that he is still on the AEW roster, and on good terms with TK. Based on his social media activity, it seems more likely that he's decided to focus more on his work in NJPW and on the indies for the time being, along with promoting his new album that just dropped. It's frustrating that he's been pulled from the Dante Martin storyline with no explanation, but I'm not convinced he won't ultimately play a role in it. Hobbs' "how many brothers do you got?" line from last night seemed to be a direct reference to Lio, and I could see all of this ending with Dante, Lio, Moriarty, and Sydal going up against Team Taz in some capacity. Particularly if they go the route of Darius returning, but joining up with Taz.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

This seems like a bit of a reset for him, maybe he wants to go back to being a heel, or just wants to focus on other things, so they pivoted and gave Dante more allies he's already been around with in the meantime.

Lio seems like a type they don't want to have lost in the shuffle, I think we'll see him back sooner rather than later, whether that's still with Dante or not though will remain to be seen. Kinda wanna see what his gimmick could do if he's allowed to be a heel again.

[smokinvokoun86]

Until an update comes to to the contrary, I’m going to assume everything’s okay and he’s just focusing on NJPW stuff. Sadly the timing between the Swole stuff and him wanting to focus on NJPW can seem weird. But as of now, I’m taking Lio’s word that things are good between him and Tony.

[ISO Mid Thigh Pull]

The Dante/Lio vs. Team Tazz feud started off so good but god damn it's been a mess since Dante went back on the heel turn. And yeah the fact that Lio Rush has been MIA since That Week does not feel good at all.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

He had just got super over with me and he was incredible in the matches. Gutted that he is off this story

[The Dark Order Inferno]

I kind of doubt he would sit back and be quiet if he were being punished for speaking his mind and being in the right. He's a straight shooter, he wouldn't just sit back and take it.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

Jan 20, 2022 19:09:54 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

I kind of doubt he would sit back and be quiet if he were being punished for speaking his mind and being in the right. He's a straight shooter, he wouldn't just sit back and take it.

Yeah, this is more or less what's giving me confidence that it's not the worst possible case.

But wow, whoever made the decision to not mention his name needs a lesson in optics, because it's super distracting and makes the worse scenarios feel more plausible.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Jan 20, 2022 16:06:30 GMT -5 smokinvokoun86 said:

Until an update comes to to the contrary, I’m going to assume everything’s okay and he’s just focusing on NJPW stuff. Sadly the timing between the Swole stuff and him wanting to focus on NJPW can seem weird. But as of now, I’m taking Lio’s word that things are good between him and Tony.

Also, he was announced this week for GCW's Hammerstein show, so it's not like he disappeared off the face of the earth.

[Mozenrath]

Wasn't he also doing Strong, etc? I honestly just kind of figure it was bad timing.

[markymark]

About to leave next month

[Alyce: Old Media Enthusiast]

Yeah, I can't fault Lio on this one. Good for him for sticking to his guns over the Swole stuff.