Lio Rush talks AEW World Championship aspirations, representation in AEW

Lio Rush has his eyes set on becoming the AEW World Champion.

In an interview with Forbes, Rush talked in great detail about his upcoming AEW run. He said that his goal was to become the first African-American World Champion in the company, while being a role model.

“Representation, it changes lives,” said Rush. “I didn’t have too many good examples of someone who can set the blueprint for somebody like me. At the time, when I was a wrestling fan, there wasn’t a short, Black, tattooed, dread-head guy who likes music from D.C. So the path that I was going, I was creating. I think that has opened up doors for a lot of people, but I want to be a world champion. I think I’m more than capable. I want to take that step. I want to be that guy that everybody is looking at and say ‘Man, he did it. And he did it through the face of adversity.’ Because I’ve had some ups and downs in my career, and I’ve showed time and time again that I’m not someone who’s going to just lay down and give up on my passion and my dreams. I think that’s a good role model, just in life. Wrestling aside, to see someone like myself move the way that I move in life and inspire the people who look like me is a beautiful thing. I want to be that. I want to be that for everybody, and I think that I can be that. I think I have the mic skills, I think that I have the in-ring capability, I think that I’m a pretty personable and likable person. And I think I’m real. I think I’m honest. This is a glass panel right here, I don’t hold anything back and I think that’s what a champion is and I want to be the first African-American world champion in AEW.”

Rush made his first AEW appearance at Double or Nothing in May. He was injured on that show and abruptly retired from wrestling. Rush recently re-debuted with AEW and has been mentoring Dante Martin. As of Friday on Rampage, Rush and Martin will work together as a tag team.

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