Marko Stunt is an AEW original, as he joined the promotion in its infancy in 2019. However, like Joey Janela and others, the company opted not to renew his contract once it was up. Over the past year, AEW has brought in stars like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson as the roster has transformed dramatically.
In an interview with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, when asked why he felt that AEW didn’t renew his deal, the former Jurassic Express star explained that, at the end of his run with the company, he wasn’t bringing anything new to the table or helping build the audience.
“I mean I wasn’t bringing anything to the table at the moment,” said Stunt. “I wasn’t adding anything to it. I wasn’t bringing in any audience or anything. That’s not to say that I didn’t have a fanbase or anything. I had my fanbase, but as in terms of making more for them, I wasn’t doing that. But I will say that I don’t believe that I was put in a position to be able to do that as well.”
Stunt noted that he had a good relationship with Tony Khan, but communication between the two sides broke down in the later stages of his time with AEW. He described how he would contact the company president and not hear back. Once he learned that his contract wouldn’t be getting renewed, he reached out to Khan to thank him, and he heard back that time.
“That is actually where the communication kinda lacked a lot is when times started running out,” said Stunt. “I meant to say this as I was saying we were close, but there was a time when we weren’t either. And then from there, we would see each other at work and be like hey, but I never really had any communication at the end. So I didn’t know if I was getting let go or renewed or anything. I sent out an email and didn’t get a response. I texted him and didn’t get a response. But about a month before it happened, I did get a call, and I got told, not by him, but I did get the phone call that I wasn’t gonna be renewed.
“And then I did text him, I was like hey man, I just wanna thank you for all the opportunities because it was a fantastic opportunity. I’m 25 years old and I was with the company for three years, and I had a blast. I lived my dream, so I wanted to thank him for that. And he did text me back and he was like, ‘Hey man, thank you for everything. I’m sorry we couldn’t get a spot for you moving forward.’ And I did tell him, I was like, ‘Maybe we’ll work together one day in the future.’ And he did say something to that, he was like, ‘There’s a possibility of that.’ That doesn’t mean at all that it is gonna happen. Not holding onto that, but if it does, it does. If it doesn’t, I’m good
Stunt also stated that he was told that “budget reasoning” and changed plans were given as reasons for his contract not being renewed.
“I mean I was told budget reasoning and that plans had just changed for what they wanted to do,” said Stunt. “That was really the only thing they told me.”
When asked about how he feels about his release, particularly given the way the company continues to spend money to bring in new stars, Stunt made it clear that he tries not to focus on that, especially now that his time with the promotion is over.
“I try not to get too upset about that type of stuff,” said Stunt. “I try not to. There definitely have been days where I’ve been like, ‘What the hell? What’s going on?’ And now that he’s kind of done and over with, I haven’t really had that. And to be real honest, I don’t really have any desire to work there right now. I wanna be careful how I work that because that’s not me saying that I don’t want to work for them ever. But right now it’s kind of fresh still. I wanna see what else is out there in a way.
Stunt has since returned to the independent scene, and he is working on launching his own promotion.
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