Jay Lethal Reveals His AEW Deal Came Together In Just A Few Days

AEW pulled off one of their now customary big PPV debuts at Full Gear, when former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal arrived in the company, declaring himself ‘All Elite’ in conversation with Tony Schiavone.

Afterwards, during the post-Full Gear media scrum, Lethal was asked about his motivations to join AEW.

"I am a professional wrestler, and this is the fastest-rising, hottest promotion in the freakin' world," Lethal began by saying. "It was no contest. It was an easy decision for any professional wrestler, in my opinion. This place is amazing. AEW is on fire and I'm so happy to be here and I'm more excited that they are willing to have me here. That's even more exciting in my head."

Lethal has become the first outgoing ROH star to publicly sign with a different major promotion, and apparently the deal came about in a matter of days:

"It all happened so quickly, only a few days ago,” continued Lethal “My head was spinning because - Today was the first time we [Lethal and Tony Khan] met and talked face-to-face. Imagine being, for lack of a better term, jobless and wondering how you're going to pay your bills and such. You're a professional wrestler so there's not a ton of jobs. You can't just fill out an application anywhere. I got a quick message from some of Tony's associates, which was like a beacon of light. But literally, that was only a few days ago. Then I flew in yesterday and had to sit in my hotel room and I couldn't get any sleep because all I could think about was, 'Well, I don't really know what's happening tomorrow because we haven't met yet. It was wild. All these thoughts going through my mind, 'Will the people like me? The company's on fire right now, I hope I make a good impression.' Just a wild rush of emotions in my head.”

Lethal said he already has a great vibe from the company, despite being part of the locker-room for less than a day, at the time of speaking:

"This feels like home, immediately. Other than meeting Tony today for the first time, I walked into the building and instantly saw people that I have met throughout my 20 years of professional wrestling. Some I was very close with. Some I just met a few times in passing. Some men and women I hadn't seen in over 15 years and it was as if we had never skipped a beat. So right away, my first 30 seconds here I was like, 'This is home.' Like I mentioned before, I'm a very loyal professional wrestler, so I plan on being here until the doors close. I plan on this being my home forever.”

H/T: Fightful