A little over a year after launching, All Elite Wrestling inked former Lucha Underground star Sonny Kiss to a multi-year contract. In doing so, the young promotion made the bold statement that they were willing to take on talents that otherwise would not get a shot in a major promotion, like WWE. Kiss’ flamboyant and gender-fluid presentation was largely hailed as inspirational, with many online clamoring to see more of the LGBTQ+ star. Unfortunately, AEW allowed Kiss’ contract to expire at the end of August, making her a free agent.
On today’s Busted Open Radio, Kiss was asked about her AEW release and why she did not get more screen time during her stint with the company.
“Definitely a question that a lot of people asked, as well, like, ‘Where’s Sonny? Where’s Sonny?'” she began. “So I understand, and it definitely hurt to go places, and that was always the question that was asked. Like, I’ll be in a supermarket or, you know, at training or whatever, and it’s just like, ‘We don’t see you.’ But how I’m feeling? It’s like a heartbreak. It’s been a little rough because this is everything I’ve always wanted to do.
“It’s a dream, and I worked so very tirelessly for this not to happen. Dustin Rhodes, who was my mentor and my trainer. He’s a trainer for all the women at AEW, and every single time I got to TV, I was there for hours, hours before doors opened. I worked my ass off every single week to make sure that this didn’t happen. So yeah, it’s heartbreaking.”
Sonny went on to talk about how she got the call that her AEW contract would not be renewed the last week of August and how surprised she was by the decision, which she did not see coming. She lamented how she had to “beg sometimes” to be put on TV and how often those calls fell on deaf ears. It was difficult for her to deal with that at the time, as she felt she was not resting on her laurels and was always working to get better.
If you use any quotes from this article, please give a h/t to Haus of Wrestling and credit Busted Open Radio