Monday, November 25, 2019

On Kylie Rae

Kylie Rae finally spoke out about why she left AEW
Photo Credit: James Musselwhite
On May 25 at Double or Nothing, Kylie Rae made her first and final appearance for All Elite Wrestling. Three weeks later, she worked for Freelance Wrestling and then went totally dark, both on her booking calendar and social media. Then, in advance of All Out, Tony Khan confirmed that she and AEW had parted ways. It was one of the weirdest stories of the year mainly for the fact that it was so shrouded in mystery. Rumors swirled, and people pretending to be newsmen on Twitter claimed up and down that they had the story on why she'd disappeared but they wouldn't tell. Folks thought she'd quit wrestling given she left an allegedly well-paying job with television exposure. And then Freelance Wrestling announced that she would wrestle Isaias Velasquez on September 21.

That's the point where rumors coalesced into a firestorm. Folks accused people in AEW as high up as Brandi Rhodes of bullying her out of the company as Rae's bookings began to pile up. The thing about all that noise was that they didn't amount to more than noise. It all seemed to be Wrestling Twitter denizens either speculating or feeding off certain people saying that they knew and that it was bad but they wouldn't divulge any details about it. I get it that those people, or person, wanted to protect Rae's privacy, but at that point, maybe don't advertise that you know about what happened (if that person really did) and perhaps not stoke the fires? Just a guess.

Basically, the situation hinged on one person and only one person speaking out, Kylie Rae herself. One might be able to understand if she didn't want to comment at all, to be quite frank. However, she released a statement on her exit from AEW on Instagram:
I don’t know how to start this and I can’t speak on other’s [sic] behalves. I can only speak for myself and what’s in my heart. I don’t know many rumors and honestly try to stay away from everything, obviously 😅. But here: nobody made me leave. AEW took my career to new levels and I’m beyond grateful for every opportunity and experience that has come along the way and wish nothing but the best. It’s a great group of people who truly love wrestling and just want everyone to succeed. I’ve always tried to be a good person but I make many mistakes along the way. I needed to get my mind, body, and soul right with God. I wish I had the answers but the truth is I don’t. We all go through obstacles in life and we may want all the answers but we don’t need them. It’s God’s plan and he has shown me what’s truly important in life and to find a blessing in every moment because in the blink of an eye, everything can be gone. So instead of bashing, let’s just love one another and appreciate what we have, or something like that lol sorry I’m awkward. 😂❤️🙏🏼
It's a complete non-statement, to be honest, which isn't a critique. It's what she wanted to say, which is her decision. Honestly, I feel like if she's posting something like that, then she truly means that she probably had some kind of breakdown while on the roster and needed to get right with herself. The truly paranoid will probably read between the lines for things she didn't say at all. Honestly though, I'm not sure you can sic attack dogs on someone unless you have some kind of knowledge that you can act on in public. If Kylie Rae doesn't want to push any beefs, real or imaginary, against Rhodes or anyone else in AEW, I think that means everyone else should probably stand down.

Right now, Rae's privacy and well-being are paramount over trying to attack a wrestling company for something that everyone is denying. Is it possible that Rae refuses to name names for personal reasons? Sure, but also I'm not sure you can attack anyone over her leaving when the only people pushing a narrative are shadowy randos on Twitter interpreting things that might not have happened. Regardless, the Kylie Rae story is probably closed. She's ready to move on, and unless she changes her tune, it's probably for the best to leave her AEW tenure alone.