Wrestler fired for conspiracy rants

Brian Kendrick had yet to appear on AEW

This image promoted a match that never happened last week between Brian Kendrick and Jon Moxley. Kendrick was replaced by X after some of his past statements caught up with him.

It was announced on Twitter that Kendrick was fired by AEW:

Tony Khan @TonyKhan

We’ve been made aware of abhorrent & offensive comments made in the past by Brian Kendrick. There’s no room in AEW for the views expressed by Brian. We think it’s best for all that Brian be pulled from tonight’s card as we gather more info. We’ll announce a replacement bout ASAP.

I first heard about this issue on the February 6 episode of the Jim Cornette Experience podcast:

PWInsider has the story, but they don’t delve into the details:

Kendrick was announced last night as debuting for the promotion, which sparked old interview footage from about a decade ago of Kendrick discussing conspiracy theories (including some truly tasteless topics we won't be giving any spotlight to here but can be found with a quick Internet search) resurfacing on social media, which then led to an outcry against Kendrick's hiring.

Kendrick requested a WWE release about two months ago and received it recently.

Cornette had mentioned some of the conspiracy theories that Kendrick said he believed that centered around the Illuminati. They included 9/11 conspiracy theories, Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, downplaying the Holocaust, etc.

TMZ Sports discusses some more of the details:

There are several videos currently published on the Internet of Kendrick spewing numerous offensive and hurtful conspiracy theories -- ranging from believing in the Illuminati-type group was behind the September 11 attack, the Sandy Hook shooting was "bulls***" meant to start a civil war, and the Holocaust was "overblown."

It doesn't stop there -- Kendrick also seems to believe Michael Jackson staged his own death.

Here’s a Kendrick video posted at TMZ:

Kendrick later apologized:

Brian Kendrick is breaking his silence ... saying he's sorry for all the "hurt" and "embarrassment" he created with his claims.

"These are not my beliefs and never were beliefs of mine, and I crossed the line," Kendrick said.

"I spread the most vile comments without thinking of the damage it would cause. I will live with this regret for the rest of my life. I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused."

Kendrick had been released by WWE earlier last week after requesting it a couple of months ago.

Last May, WWE fired referee Drake Wuertz for supporting QAnon and the Proud Boys:

Wuertz had been at the center of controversy in recent months, starting back in November when he was accused of supporting both Q-Anon and the Proud Boys. In recent weeks he gave speeches both a County Commissioner's meeting and a Seminole County Public Schools board meeting arguing against children wearing masks in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the other WWE talent also said they didn’t feel comfortable working with Wuertz:

Jon Alba @JonAlba

In the past 3 weeks, multiple WWE and NXT Superstars told me they believed Drake Wuertz was racist, and felt uncomfortable around him at the WWE Performance Center. One noted they even felt odd with him reffing closed-door matches at the PC. This seemed like it was inevitable.