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AEW's Brodie Lee Explains Why He Left WWE; Kenny Omega Tops His Wishlist
May 17, 2020
AEW star Brodie Lee appeared on Busted Open Radio recently to discuss his WWE departure and who he most wants to wrestle in AEW.
During the interview (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Douglas Canavin), Lee said a lack of opportunities is what prompted his desire to leave WWE:
"That's the main reason why I didn't want to be in WWE anymore; it's because I knew those opportunities weren't coming. No matter how hard I scratched and clawed, no matter what I proved, they weren't coming. I wasn't one of the chosen ones. Now here I am. I'm proving it myself. But now, it's like I know I'm great at professional wrestling. I know I deserve these spots, but now I have to show up and prove that to other people. So now there's a certain pressure on me because there is no one to blame anymore."
Lee had plenty of ups during his time in WWE, where he wrestled as Luke Harper. He was part of The Wyatt Family with Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan, he had a run as Intercontinental champion, and he held the SmackDown Tag Team Championships with Rowan as The Bludgeon Brothers.
Aside from his brief IC title reign, however, Lee was never really given the chance to have a sustained singles run. It was a surprising decision on WWE's part since his size (billed at 6'9", 295 lbs), look and demeanor potentially could have made him a top monster heel.
Lee is getting the chance to be precisely that in AEW as the leader of Dark Order. Although he debuted only two months ago, he is already slated to face Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing on Saturday.
Moxley vs. Lee is a highly anticipated match, but Lee noted there are many other performers he wants to work with in AEW as well, including Kenny Omega, who is at the top of his list:
"The list is so long. A guy like Kenny Omega, Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, Cody Rhodes now. The list is so hard, even [Proud] And Powerful, Jericho, all those guys. Sammy Guevara.
"It's crazy to say. I don't want to come off like, 'Everybody,' but literally almost everyone on the roster is a fun matchup to me. It's all fresh, it's all new, and it's very cool. But a guy like Kenny Omega is probably at the top of the list to have that crazy, big-time matchup."
Lee has faced many of the biggest names in wrestling between his time in WWE and on the independents, but Omega is one person he has never gotten the chance to lock up with.
Omega is currently one half of the AEW World Tag Team champions with "Hangman" Adam Page, but once Lee gets through feuding with Moxley, Omega stands out as a top candidate to go up against Lee and Dark Order.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).