Lio Rush vents on low pay, race in interview about backstage heat

Without the benefit of a PR go between, it’s rare for pro wrestlers to seek out media and grant interviews on their own. Lio Rush did just that, and he dropped some pretty heavy quotes along the way.

The past seven days have been rough for Rush in terms of rumors and reports about his status backstage in WWE. Last Thursday, Rush took to social media in an attempt to get out in front of any rumors. Over the weekend, Rush doubled down on his stance and called out ‘dirtsheets’ for their ‘ridiculous’ reports.

On Wednesday, Rush spoke with Fightful about his issues and he did not hold back one bit.

“My issue has never been with Bobby (Lashley). Being with Bobby has helped the both of us out tremendously. It’s given me speaking confidence I didn’t know i had. I never was a promo guy on the indies. But being with Bobby made me a promo guy. My issue isn’t with my on screen role. My issue is the fact that I haven’t been on meet & greets with Bobby, haven’t been getting paid for merchandise for us that has my catchphrases on them. (I) have been sent to live shows and TVs and forced to pay for my own rental for 5 days as well as hotel while not making enough money to do so. Walking around broke in the biggest sports entertainment industry that there is while having two kids and a wife to support.”

Rush would then comment on reports that he wasn’t paying his dues as a rookie.

“It’s not about race and it has never been, but public perception is important to me and when we have fans that travel all over the globe and watch us get off of buses and into hotels, the LOOK of a black kid carrying waters and bags for other wrestlers is just not a good look, especially when I’m trying to portray myself as a superstar as well,”

Two other things pro wrestlers rarely do, especially while still contracted with the biggest company in the industry, is speak about their pay as well as anything that could be deemed as backstage hazing. For reasons only he will ever know, The Man of the Hour let loose on both of these topics.

In a profession like pro wrestling, is there any way Rush drops these quotes and doesn’t have his career impacted by them? How will WWE deal with Rush’s latest interview?