AEW Star Admits Wrestling More Political Than They Hoped

AEW star Anthony Ogogo is a boxing Olympian but the politics of the pro wrestling world have left him disappointed.

Ogogo has been part of AEW since 2019 but it wasn’t until 2021 that he had his first televised match for the company. The former boxer was part of the infamous feud with Cody Rhodes that culminated in a match at Double Or Nothing 2021 where Rhodes competed under his father’s moniker of The American Dream.

Since then Anthony Ogogo has struggled to progress in AEW with opportunities seemingly few and far between and that has left him feeling frustrated.

Speaking to Boxing Scene, Ogogo admitted he thought he’d be at the top of the wrestling world by now but that the politics in the business have been a real eye-opener for him:

I thought I would be at the top of the wrestling world by now. It is more political than I thought and hoped it would be and as a wrestling fan I never wanted to take a peek behind the curtain. For a two-hour wrestling show, I wouldn’t want to know their real names; where they lived… I wouldn’t want to know.

When I watch James Bond and I see Daniel Craig, I know it’s Daniel Craig but for that two-hour movie I want to believe it’s James Bond. I want to get lost in the beauty of their storytelling and suspend my belief. As a wrestling fan I was the same, so when I came into the wrestling world, I didn’t have the luxury of learning on the independents and learning the ropes. I went into a massive company and most people got there after wrestling 10, 15, 20 years, and they knew how wrestling worked. I had no idea.

Office Politics A Whole New World For AEW’s Anthony Ogogo

Ogogo also explained that the fact he’d never had a normal job before left him unprepared for the politics that are at play behind the scenes in wrestling or in any office environment:

Also, I’d never had a job before. I’d never been in an office. I never had an HR department and I didn’t know how office politics worked. There’s line managers; there’s protocol; there’s HR departments. It’s weird. It’s strange to me – that’s different.

Anthony Ogogo has been competing in his native England for Revolution Pro Wrestling and was on the card for their High Stakes show on February 18th, 2024 when he defeated Ricky Knight Jr. That show was also where Will Ospreay was in action for the last time before he becomes a fully-fledged member of the AEW roster. Ospreay was tapped out by RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Michael Oku in a classic encounter.

Anthony Ogogo was less than impressed by his role at AEW All In, believing he was somewhat overshadowed by someone who is not even signed to the company.