Brian Kendrick Reveals How Close He Was To AEW Debut Before His Comments About The Holocaust Cancelled It

Brian Kendrick was supposed to be the third member of the Blackpool Combat Club. However, his match with former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley was called off an hour before schedule. That led to Wheeler Yuta taking his spot and becoming the unplanned third member of the faction.

Kendrick’s absence occurred because he made anti-Semitic comments, and even talked about a lot of conspiracy theories. A video started making rounds online, where Kendrick was seen talking about Sandy Hook, The Holocaust, and even 9/11.

The former AEW star was on K & S WrestleFest, where he talked about what went down before his scheduled appearance. He also revealed what he ended up losing due to the comments he made.

Talked with Tony Khan on the phone, they made me music, I had an entrance and everything was ready to go. Show up to Chicago in my wrestling gear, a few hours from going out there and performing, I get a call from their lawyer  … She goes, ‘Is it true?’ I go, ‘Is what true?’ She goes, ‘There’s this video out there’ … ‘There’s some pretty salacious stuff about the Holocaust, about Sandy Hook’, and I go, ‘Oh, mfer, I know exactly what you’re talking about’

Advertising

Advertising

The AEW lawyer then told him that they would have to pull him from the show, to which he was receptive. After he had a meeting with Sonjay Dutt, Danielson and Tony Khan, the AEW president told him that it would be best for him to leave with his gear.

And that was it. She goes, ‘I think we’re going to have to pull you from the show.’ I said ‘I understand.’ I text Bryan Danielson. I say, ‘Hey buddy, sorry for the embarrassment’ … Then I get a call from Sonjay Dutt, go in to meet him and Bryan Danielson, Tony Khan, … [Tony] says, ‘I apologize, you know, I don’t think this would’ve happened if you wouldn’t have quit your job [at WWE] and came here, but this is what we’re dealing with right now. So I think it’s for the best if you grab your gear and you leave’.

The former AEW star said that he made no good impressions on Tony Khan. He only had three months of being semi-employed in the promotion. He even added that he didn’t believe in the theories he was talking about in the video.

As far as the business goes, Tony doesn’t know me from nothing. He just knows me as a headache walking in … I officially got released on May 1st, so there was about three months in limbo, being quasi-employed. The truth is I don’t really believe in anything. As far as like, with the Holocaust stuff, for example, you know, how could I say such things. Well, I said them because they’re salacious. I said them to get a rise out of people … What it was, was me trying to profit off of it.

Kendrick left WWE in favor of AEW, which Khan suggested was the move that ended his journey short in AEW. The former WWE star left WWE in the beginning of 2022 for AEW. However, because of the comments he made on the video, he never made his AEW debut.

What’s your take on this story? Sound off in the comments!