AEW Debut Was Originally Pitched For All In

After seemingly years of speculation, CJ Perry finally showed up in All Elite Wrestling at All Out in September 2023, attempting to help husband Miro after he was beat down by Powerhouse Hobbs after their singles match on the show.

Perry has since gone about trying to recruit new talent to manage after being shunned on screen by Miro, and during a conversation with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, the former Lana revealed initial plans for her AEW debut:

"Miro was pushing, a lot of this was his idea, a lot of the story. He wanted it to be in London, but Tony really had a vision for it to happen in Chicago, and he’s from Chicago and loves Chicago and I love Chicago. So here we go," Perry said.

For some, Perry’s debut was a long time coming, with sections of the AEW fanbase calling for her to accompany Miro ever since ‘The Redeemer’s debut in 2020:

"Well, when Miro first joined AEW, I was still in WWE. So that was in 2020, he started there in September, I think. So I was in WWE still, and I had a very lucrative contract. I was on TV every week, so we both thought it made sense for me to stay. Then I finished my time a year. Miro wanted me to come over to AEW, and he was plugging me in the story, and that’s how I got the name ‘Hot and Flexible.’ So I needed a little bit of a break.

“At the beginning, I wanted to be gone for a little bit, and I wanted to do things… I didn’t want to jump right back on the road. So I took about a year, and it was just trying to figure out the time. Tony Khan had great things going on with his show, and I had things going on, Miro had things. It’s all about timing," Perry said.

H/T: Fightful