Lio Rush announced his intention to retire less than two weeks after making his AEW debut as the Joker in the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing in May. However, he has still been fulfilling his commitments to New Japan on their NJPW Strong brand. It would later come out that Rush has stayed in contact with Tony Khan, and last night the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion appeared on Dynamite in a video vignette.
In the video you can watch below, he would explain he is now a businessman involved in leveraged buyouts, saying he could be called LBO Lio. He would then go on to describing the process, seemingly setting up his new gimmick. Subsequently, AEW would announce on social media he had officially signed.
26-year-old Rush was released by WWE as part of the companies mass cuts in April 2020. He did contemplate quitting the business previously to focus on music and went as far as to wrestle a retirement match against Joey Janela. However, he returned a few months later. Since then, he has competed for MLW, New Japan, and even wrestled as a Spider-Man-inspired character called Aracno at AAA TripleMania XXVIII. Additionally, he appeared on MTV reality show The Challenge but quit the show citing mental health reasons.
