Crowbar Details How His AEW Debut Happened, Praises The Company’s Positive Environment

If you happen to know Crowbar‘s backstory, then you know he is a positive light in the world of pro wrestling. A man who was known for his manic demeanor in the later stages of WCW, Crowbar was an avid student in and outside of the ring as he balanced bumps with books working towards his goal of becoming a physical therapist.

Over the course of 20 years, Crowbar has accomplished both and just a few weeks ago, the former Devon Storm got some “brotherly love” in Philadelphia by working in AEW as he faced long-time friend Joey Janela in singles action. Crowbar was joined at ringside by another veteran in Blue Meanie as the two worked babyface against a heelish Janela. The Bad Boy came out the victor, but Crowbar became a talent in a league of his own as he became the only wrestling star to ever work in WCW, WWE, ECW, TNA, AEW, ROH and MLW. Back in the spring, Crowbar happened to send footage to AEW of his recent work after he took part in the ECWA Super 8.

Crowbar joined Marcus and Dominic DeAngelo of 2 Dynamite Dudes On A Rampage to talk about his journey and how his AEW appearance came to fruition.

“QT [Marshall] reached out around summer and he said, ‘We might bring you in. Joey really wants to work with you, yada yada yada,’ and that was around the end of July, and I’m excited, but again, coming from the time that I come from, wrestling is wrestling. Anything can happen, I’ll believe it when I’m there so a month goes by, they go to Newark, NJ which is right by the house, I don’t hear anything. They go to Arthur Ashe, I don’t hear anything. Then, I get the call the week before Philly, but I’ve been preparing. Since COVID hit, I’ve been preparing. That enabled me to do the [ECWA Super 8], that enabled me to do the JCW/GCW show, I prepared for this. I think for the first time in my career I was prepared as I could be.”

Being ring-ready allowed Crowbar to be mentally ready for a positive set of days in Philadelphia, but came in with plenty to prove.

“I was ready, so it was very relaxed. I was able to enjoy the fact that I’m going there and it sunk in and I’m prepared. I’m extremely confident, I know going in there, there was going to be a lot of naysayers, ‘Oh, why are they bringing in this old guy in? I’m sure he can’t do anything,’ and I wanted to go out there and make a lot of people put their foot in their mouth.”

Crowbar talked about always being socially awkward even from his days in school, but said there was a striking difference in the positive vibe that came with being in the AEW locker room.

“I’m not just saying this ’cause I was just there, it was a different culture. I never fit the old-school wrestling culture and everybody there was welcoming. There were a lot of old WCW fans. There were workers that knew my work as Crowbar, there were people that knew my work as Devon Storm, there were people that knew my work tagging with Ace Darling as a tag team and they were a welcoming locker room.

“I think I have one foot in the old school, one foot in the new school. I was probably the first guy to bring video games into a hotel room. I was probably the first guy to study on the road and I was abused because of it and not nicely, but it made me a stronger person. I feel like this was a whole locker room full of 19-year-old Chris Fords and it was super, super cool and super inviting and I felt at home. I never felt that comfortable in a wrestling locker room ever.”

Crowbar did receive a moment to speak with AEW President Tony Khan, but was also aware TK had plenty on his plate that evening.

“He thanked me for coming, I thanked him about six times for having me and it was really cool to meet him.”

The DeAngelo brothers and Crowbar delve into so much more including his relationship with the late Daffney Unger, the troubles he faced backstage in WCW, Star Wars and balancing his career as a physical therapist.

Check out the full video interview with Crowbar at the top of this post; you can also watch Crowbar’s match on AEW Dark Elevation on the promotion’s YouTube page.

Related: Anthony Bowens Returning To Action Ahead Of Schedule; Credits Crowbar For Safe Recovery