Jake Atlas not expected back in AEW

Former WWE NXT and AEW wrestler Jake Atlas isn’t expected back in AEW, Fightful reported Tuesday.

It’s the latest development in what’s been a tumultuous few years for the 27-year-old.

Fightful also cleared up some confusion regarding Atlas’ contract status with AEW, saying that according to multiple sources, he was on a per-appearance deal that was paused during his recovery from February surgery to repair a torn ACL. In January, AEW had announced him as #AllElite, typically a designation for a full-time contracted talent.

Atlas (Kenny Marquez) was arrested on May 23rd on domestic violence charges after attacking his boyfriend in an incident that began at an Orlando, Florida, bar and continued at a friend’s house. Atlas, who was released by police later that day, will be arraigned in Orange County court on June 28th.

That occured while Atlas was recovering from the aforementioned surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered in his second AEW match: a January 7th Rampage taping against Adam Cole.

Neither AEW, nor Atlas, have made any public statements about the arrest.

In AEW, Atlas was hoping for a resurrection of a once-promising career that saw him get signed by WWE in the fall of 2019. He started in NXT in early-2020 and was released in August 2021, later doing an extensive interview with our Denise Salcedo where he detailed his experiences and said that his mental health was the worst it had been while there.