Are AEW stars leaving the promotion due to budget cuts?

AEW has been growing fast since debuting on January 1, 2019. Wrestling stars are signing left and right since AEW is the major alternative to WWE.

On January 8, 2019, AEW had an initial roster of Chris Jericho, Pac, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Scorpio Sky, Britt Baker, Joey Janela & Hangman Page. On February 7, 2019, AEW signed Kenny Omega, Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix), and The Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta).

Years later, AEW scooped up other big names such as CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Malakai Black, Keith Lee, Adam Cole, and William Regal.

Some stars were left hanging with a bloated roster loaded with top talent. This leads to this question: Are AEW stars leaving the promotion due to budget cuts?

So far, there's one: Marko Stunt of The Jurassic Express. Stunt debuted at AEW Double or Nothing 2019. He wasn't seen much in the company since September 2021, when he wrestled on Dark: Elevation and disappeared from The Jurassic Express.

AEW President Tony Khan decided not to renew Stunt's contract. The latter will exit the company once his contract expires in May. Christopher Daniels, AEW's Head of Talent Relations, called Stunt, explaining that budget cuts and an extensive roster were the reasons for the non-renewal of his contract.

Stunt hadn't been booked in a match for the last six months and didn't communicate with AEW to receive an extension.

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Joey Janela will move on from AEW

Unlike Marko Stunt, Joey Janela's impending AEW exit isn't due to budget cuts as he let his contract expire and didn't sign an extension. Similar to Stunt, Janela's contract will also end in May 2022.

Janela wanted to extend his initial three-year contract in February but couldn't due to a lack of communication with AEW.

Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Bad Boy said his AEW run wasn't great, and the company stopped talking to him. Janela said he has no ill-will toward AEW's management or roster:

"I’ve had a string of bad luck throughout my AEW career, and that may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but I don’t know because they don’t communicate with me. They did the same thing to Marko Stunt. They just stopped talking to him. I'm not sad, I'm not mad, I'm not mad at anyone, I had a wonderful experience.”

Another AEW star that might potentially leave is MJF. The Salt of the Earth is under contract until January 1, 2024, and has received interest from WWE. He consistently alluded to it, especially in his recent Ariel Helwani Show appearance, which Khan didn't appreciate. They eventually settled their differences.

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What are your thoughts on the Marko Stunt situation? Sound off in the comments below.