Trey Miguel Says He Nearly Quit Wrestling to Work at AT&T After AEW Exit

Trey Miguel came much closer to leaving wrestling than anyone realized — and his latest comments reveal just how serious things got after his AEW exit.

Miguel had previously opened up about the emotional toll of his release and how Alex Shelley helped pull him out of a dark place. But now, he’s sharing another detail about that period — one that shows he was already preparing for life outside the business.

While speaking on the I Love Wrestling podcast on March 3, 2026, Miguel revealed he was so uncertain about his future that he actually considered leaving wrestling entirely and getting a regular job selling phones.

“Talking to TNA, it was one of those things where I had some difficult decisions to make. I’ll be the first to tell you, man — I texted a friend at home like, ‘Hey bud, can I just apply to work at AT&T with you and sell cell phones?’ And he sent me all the paperwork for the application. I looked at it and I was just like, God knows I don’t want to do this.”

Miguel explained that looking at the application forced him to confront how much time he had already invested in wrestling. After spending most of his life chasing the dream, the idea of starting over in a completely different field felt overwhelming.

“I’ve worked so hard to be a professional. I’ve given this 16 years of my life. I don’t want to start over at 31 years old.”

That moment of doubt eventually turned into a turning point when he spoke with TNA’s Tommy Dreamer, who made it clear the company wanted him back — and had bigger plans for him if he chose to return.

“Then I had a conversation with Tommy Dreamer, and Tommy was like, ‘We’re going to bring you back. We want you back, and we’re going to do something big this time.’ That was contingent on whether I decided to re-sign.”

Miguel said that conversation — along with discussions with TNA President Carlos Silva — helped him realize that returning to the promotion that first gave him an opportunity felt like the right move. Miguel even went a step further, saying he already knows where he wants his career to end.

“He had a talk with Carlos, and everyone told me where their minds were at. I was just like, you know what — I would absolutely love to come back to TNA. TNA has always treated me like family. I look at them like family. That’s where I will retire my career one day. I don’t care where wrestling takes me — TNA gave me my start. That’s where I’m going to put a cap on it when this is all done. So it was really nice to know that they valued me in the very same way I value them.”

In the end, the phone store job never happened — and Miguel instead returned to TNA, where he quickly reignited his career, eventually becoming the TNA International Champion at No Surrender.

Knowing how close Trey Miguel came to leaving wrestling entirely, do you think his TNA comeback could end up being the biggest chapter of his career? Let us know your thoughts.

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