Frankie Kazarian is ready to once again bet on himself.
The former multi-time champion in ROH, AEW, and IMPACT spoke with PW Insider about his decision to return to IMPACT at last Friday’s Hard To Kill, and explains why he decided not to re-sign with AEW, a decision he reveals was well-respected by both sides. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
How he told AEW he didn’t want his contract to be rolled over and they granted him his release at the beginning of the year:
I still had two years left on my contract, two years to get rolled over. AEW management contacted me in early December, which was only a few weeks after [Josh Alexander] match. They contacted me 30 days out, which is what they’re supposed to do, and had talked about rolling me over and wanted to get the process going. I basically said, ‘thanks but no thanks.’ I voiced concerns and frustrations and goals and aspirations and had a really good talk with management and left it there. I was still going to TVs and the last television I was at was in San Antonio. I sat down with Megha (Parekh), head legal of AEW, and had a long in-person conversation. I basically gave her the list of reasons why I wanted to move on and bet on myself, and now was the time to do it. I’ve always done business the right way and been amicable about it. I wanted to get out before any feelings of resentment or bitterness. That message was relayed and they wanted to do right by me, which I respect the hell out of. As of January 1 this year, I was a free agent.
Says he had great chats with WWE, but decided to return to IMPACT:
In the spirit of transparency, I had great talks with the people at WWE. Those talks could not have been better, positive, more professional. I have nothing but great things to say about everybody in that organization, especially the people I spoke to and texted with. Ultimately, this was the best fit for me at this stage of my career and this point in my life. I have a great relationship with Scott D’Amore, I have history there, a lot of my legacy is there. At this stage, I was the best fit for IMPACT and IMPACT was the best fit for me.