Lio Rush unhappy with WWE; WWE unhappy with Lio Rush

Lio Rush isn’t happy with how the WWE is treating him, but WWE isn’t all that pleased with him, either.

It’s been quite a week of drama for Lio Rush.

The WWE Superstar, a recent call-up from NXT who was positioned as hype man for Bobby Lashley, has apparently drawn a significant amount of backstage heat from WWE wrestlers and brass alike in his short time with the company. Numerous reports emerged throughout the week that detailed both WWE’s unhappiness with Rush and Rush’s unhappiness in the company.

Fightful first reported on the source of Rush’s heat — per their report, “Some of the frustration stems from Rush’s insistence to have his wife present at almost all times,” including an incident between Rush and Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor. Balor confronted Rush about his wife’s near-constant presence, particularly at rehearsals, and Rush did not react well, with word spreading quickly around the locker room.

Once that report hit, though, more information began spilling out of the WWE’s locker room, and, eventually from Rush himself. Rush responded to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp on Wednesday, detailing numerous grievances he has with the company. These include:

• Not being scheduled to join Lashley on meet-and-greets
• Not being paid for Lashley-Rush merchandise that includes Rush’s catchphrases
• Being “forced” to pay for rental cars for days at a time (and hotel rooms) while not making enough money from WWE to afford the expenses
• Not wanting to carry bags for veterans and other “dues-paying” duties that younger or newer members of the roster are expected to do

The latter came on the heels of another report, by Mike Johnson at PWInsider, which stated that Rush refused to hand water bottles to veteran talent after their matches, set up private areas for the wrestlers and other tasks that have “long been considered standard backstage etiquette” during the WWE’s European tour last fall. He also reportedly didn’t react well when WWE veterans confronted him about this behavior. More sources came forward to Johnson later in the week that further confirmed these claims.

Johnson also reported that Rush was offered a five-year deal worth around $300,000 per year but that Rush turned it down and, according to Johnson’s sources, instead asked for a contract worth double that amount annually.

Needless to say, Rush has become persona non grata around the WWE locker room and hasn’t been seen by Lashley’s side on Raw over the last two weeks. Per Fightful, Rush “would be very lucky to be back on the main roster any time soon, if ever,” while Johnson notes that it’s likely Rush will be sent back to NXT.

Perhaps that will mark the end of Rush’s troubles with the company, but it won’t necessarily lead to his release. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted this week that WWE isn’t planning on releasing any wrestlers who could head to upstart All Elite Wrestling, and Rush would certainly be among them.

Hopefully a shift back to NXT, if that’s what it comes to, will benefit Rush and make the disgruntled wrestler happy while releasing what seems to be some serious tension between him and the WWE.