Aron Stevens on how NWA helped him reconcile ‘bitter taste’ from WWE & TNA experiences
While Aron Stevens says he would have declined a return to WWE back in 2024, he’s more open to it now while giving praise to the NWA for helping get rid of the “bitter taste” he had from the pro wrestling industry.
Speaking on the Xenia Did That podcast, the former Damien Sandow in WWE was asked whether his WWE return was a closed chapter or something he would consider in the future.
He said there was no desire to with his current schedule and touched on his NWA run helping him reconcile with the bitter taste he had for the industry following his WWE release. He also talked about the change in TNA management which influenced his decision to leave that company.
“I don’t have a desire to (return to WWE). There’s just so many other things that I have on the horizon right now that I finally reconciled and that’s another thing: NWA has been great with me. When I left WWE, I had a very bitter taste for the wrestling industry and in TNA, that was good. That was a lot of fun in TNA and then they switched management and then management got a little you know, I just wasn’t really digging the way the company was going. So, I just left and was out in L.A. doing my thing.”
“And Billy (Corgan) calls, tells me about NWA. Well, I don’t know. He goes, ‘Oh, you got a plane ticket. Come on.’ And then I went to Georgia. Been with him ever since. And it’s truly helped me reconcile some internal stuff, you know what I mean? It’s been good. I don’t despise the industry anymore, you know what I mean? I have a different perspective now.”
Stevens added that his response would have been a definite no if WWE called him back 18 months ago, but now he would be open to considering it.
“If WWE called, it’s not something I really think about. If they called, alright, I would of course listen. I mean, I may say yes, I may say no. There are so many factors that go into that, but I would’ve said no a year and a half ago. I totally would have ve said no. Now it’s like, you never know. You never know, but I’m certainly not like, having any aspirations. I’m far too concerned with trying to do the best I can where I’m at.”
Stevens had two stints with WWE, the first from 2003 to 2007, and then from 2010 to 2016. He had a brief run with the NWA between the WWE runs and eventually made another comeback in 2019 there where he remains an active competitor.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.