Dean Malenko appeared at a Starrcast panel and discussed leaving WWE after being an agent with the company for many years…
“There’s a little part in your head that says, ‘that’s enough. You’ve done your time.’ Not that AEW was the reason I left, there were just other things I wanted to do. One was to take care of my health. One was to spend time with my kids. AEW just happened to pop up at the same time with a different schedule and thought process. It was hard for me to turn it down. It was the same opportunity to let me keep doing what I was doing, just in a different environment. The right moves come from [the heart]. Is Dean Malenko doing the right thing for him? I think I am.”
Malenko also commented on helping out AEW talents:
“I think a lot of my experience will help Cody out and help a lot of these young guys get adjusted to TV,” Malenko said. “TV is a whole different animal than when you’re doing live events. It’s a beautiful luxury that you don’t have commercials built into them where TV you do, so your matches are chopped up a little bit.”
“You got a guy in there dealing with time because you have a span you have to reach when you’re doing an 8 to 10 show, you have to be off the air at a certain time. I’m here to help these guys learn how to do that, instruct them on the best way to do that and get over. And try to get them recognized with this new audience that’s coming up.”
