News

Wardlow Reveals How He Got Signed By AEW While “Jobless, Broke”

Wardlow walking to ring

AEW TNT Champion Wardlow explained how he came to be signed by AEW during a difficult time in his life.

At AEW Double or Nothing, Wardlow was on top of the world when he decisively defeated MJF and gained an official on-screen AEW contract. However, the star had signed with the company behind the scenes as far back as 2019, when he first began appearing as MJF’s bodyguard amidst a rivalry with Cody Rhodes.

Speaking in an interview with ESPR, Wardlow detailed how his AEW signing came about, revealing that he was living with his mother and jobless at the time.

“I was jobless, broke, living at my mothers house in my old bedroom. [I was] taking a nap because I didn’t have anything else to do. I woke up and I had a missed call from QT Marshall. I wasn’t even fully awake yet and I’m calling the number back trying to clear my throat and get ready for this phone call. We ended up talking for an hour and we had such a great connection. We both felt how passionate each other were about wrestling and basically they had heard my name from a few different people all around the same time.”

Continuing, Wardlow revealed some of the people who vouched for him in the world of professional wrestling, including former AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker.

“Britt Baker came up with me in Pittsburgh, we were both a part of IWC, we started at the same time. Warrior Wrestling had a couple of people who contacted Cody [Rhodes] about me. Then Glacier Lloyd, who’s affiliated with [The Nightmare Factory], he did a seminar at IWC and saw me work and said ‘Hey Cody, you might wanna take a look at this guy.’ Cody was like ‘Alright, I’ve heard this name Wardlow from like five different people. If he’ll fly himself to Atlanta, we’ll take a look at him.’ That was basically their challenge.

“I borrowed some money and booked a flight that night and then QT invited a complete stranger into his home and let me stay with him for three nights, him and his wife. I’ll never be able to thank him enough for that. Him and I worked in the ring for a few minutes in front of Cody and it only took three minutes and Cody offered me a deal.”

Wardlow is the current AEW TNT Champion and is currently involved in a tag team with Samoa Joe. Together, WarJoe is feuding with Mike Bennett and Matt Taven (aided by Maria Kanellis), who recently debuted on an episode of AEW Rampage.

h/t Fightful