Frankie Kazarian has come home.
Kazarian appeared at the IMPACT Hard To Kill pay-per-view and noted that he made a major decision. He described how he had a choice to make, as he could be complement or make a move and bet on himself. Kazarian picked the latter path, as he stated that he has signed a long-term contract with IMPACT Wrestling.
Welcome home @FrankieKazarian!#HardToKill pic.twitter.com/3leZlsQHFF
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) January 14, 2023
Kazarian had been signed with AEW since 2019. He and Scorpio Sky were the inaugural AEW World Tag Team Champions. Kazarian’s last AEW match was on the December 26 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation, where he lost to Konosuke Takeshita.
Kazarian previously worked for IMPACT for several years in the promotion’s early days. He is a three-time TNA World Tag Team Champion, and he won the X-Division Championship four times. He returned to IMPACT in 2021 and won the X-Division Championship again. He cashed in Option C and unsuccessfully challenged Josh Alexander for the world championship at the Over Drive pay-per-view.
Update: Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that Kazarian asked AEW to be released after his match with Alexander, and the company granted his request. The departure was a “completely amicable situation”, per Johnson, and it was based around Kazarian’s desire to push himself harder at this stage in his career. The report cites sources who noted that Kazarian “did business the rught way”, and while he would be welcomed back in AEW, he’s with IMPACT moving forward.
RELATED: IMPACT Wrestling Hard To Kill Results – January 13, 2023
