Lance Anoa'i says missing out on opportunities, such as appearing on WWE programming with his family, played a role in him asking MLW for his release.
Anoa'i
told Steve Fall of Wrestling News recently that he was unable to take part in a Tribal Court segment on WWE TV and an A&E special due to his MLW deal. He also says MLW hadn't offered him any dates after he returned from a tour with NOAH.
"I was in Japan, I told them when I was getting back from Japan, they had no dates for me. They had nothing for me," he said.
However, not being able to appear on WWE programming also factored into his decision.
"I just wanted that freedom mainly for right now, especially with my family being on top of the best company there is," Anoa'i said. "I missed a few opportunities being with MLW. That one on A&E. I missed the possibility of being on the Tribal Court they were doing, bringing in the family, I missed that opportunity. And now, I can do it all. I can be at extra work, I can be at tryouts, nothing is stopping me now, so I'm just ready to go.”
“The Tribal Court, they wanted a lot of us. They asked my grandfather, my dad, my uncles, me, Jacob (Fatu), they wanted us all and unfortunately due to our contracts and everything, we weren't able to," Anoa'i continued.
He says they pitched to be allowed to appear on WWE programming, saying it would bring increased exposure to MLW.
"We pitched that point and we got shut down. We don't know why. It is what it is. We just ran with it. They even did the A&E special filming my whole family at our family reunions and we weren't allowed to be in any of it. So, it was just a few missed opportunities and hopefully, it just comes right back around and everybody will be able to see how big our family is still growing."
MLW filed an antitrust lawsuit against WWE on January 11, 2022, accusing the company of interfering with its streaming and television deals as well as tampering with contracted talent. The promotion filed an amended lawsuit in March 2023, alleging WWE interfered in a TV rights deal with Reelz.
Anoa'i and his Samoan Swat Team tag partner Juicy Finau were released on October 29. Finau had been with the company since April 2022. MLW announced they had signed Anoa'i in May 2022. They held the promotion's tag titles earlier this year from January 7 to July 8.
