Evil Uno says it’s “weird” being in AEW without his long-time tag team partner, Stu Grayson.
In a tweet on May 6, Grayson confirmed that he left the company after his contract expired on April 30. He had worked for the company since 2019, and alongside Evil Uno, he was one of the founders of the Dark Order. Before they joined AEW, Uno and Grayson were the Super Smash Brothers, one of the most renowned tag teams in the independent wrestling world.
While they often teamed up in the early days of AEW, they increasingly became less featured as the company continued to sign more stars. The Dark Order often competes on AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation, but they rarely appear on AEW TV these days.
Speaking with NBC Sports Boston, Uno commented on Grayson’s departure by saying that, as his friend, he had an understanding of the situation. He then stated that Grayson wanted something in his contract, but AEW wouldn’t give it to him. Uno went on to say that he still sees his partner, but it’ll be a little harder navigating the backstage environment and other aspects of the company without the person he’s worked with for the majority of his career.
“It’s a little weird,” said Uno. “I won’t lie and say I didn’t… you know, he’s my friend, so I have an understanding of what he was going through. It’s not like it took me by surprise. This was like a mutual decision. He wanted something out of his contract and they did not have that for him, and he wasn’t going to continue if it wasn’t for that. And he was fine walking away, and he’s not upset in any way. I still see him. So we run a wrestling school back in Canada, and we still see each other once or twice a week. We’re still great friends. But it is very weird because I’ve navigated most of my wrestling career with him by my side. And now I’m kind of doing it in my own again.
“There was a short period of time I did it in the 2010s where we weren’t a team anymore. And so it’s going back to that, but now it’s on national television, which is a lot harder. It’s a lot easier to have an anchor point and someone that you know how to work with, who completely understands both your rhythm in wrestling, your personality and who you are as a person, to help you navigate the backstage.”
Uno also expressed his confidence that Grayson will be fine, no matter where he goes next, as he called his partner one of the best wrestlers in the world.
“But I’m pretty confident I’ll do okay and I’m sure Stu, wherever he does land, will do fantastic as well because he’s truthfully one of the best wrestlers probably in the world and I think most people just are unaware of it.”
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