Leyla Hirsch opens up about AEW departure, frustration with lack of stories

Leyla Hirsch feels like there was a lot left for her to accomplish in AEW and ROH.

The 28-year-old Hirsch departed AEW at the end of February when her contract with the promotion was not renewed. Speaking with the Soul Sessions wrestling interview show, Hirsch had kind words for the people she met in AEW. But Hirsch described her AEW run as only being “decent” because of all the goals she still had remaining.

A torn ACL that Hirsch suffered in 2022 kept her out of action for more than a year — and she pointed to that as a turning point where things were never the same for her after that. Hirsch felt like she always delivered in the ring, but she expressed frustration over a lack of opportunity to tell stories.

“I’m going to be really honest, because I’m a very honest person, I think my time in AEW was decent. I didn’t accomplish half the stuff I would have liked to, especially coming back from an ACL injury,” Hirsch said. “I kept having hopes and hopes. I would pitch stuff. I would rarely pitch things, because I’m not like that. But if I did, it’s because I think it was something that was worth it. So the one thing I pitched to Tony [Khan] was telling my story of coming here from Russia. And just, you know what I mean, because that was my story with [Kris] Statlander that never — I never got to see it through, which was so frustrating. Because it’s something I know that would have really elevated my career, and also I think it would have definitely done good for the company.

“I feel like I put so much effort into Ring of Honor, so much energy. And the last couple of months, I just feel like, this is where I say there’s so much that we don’t control. And I can just say as a performer, like, I tried my best. I try to pitch stuff. I try to work well with whatever is given to us, even at sometimes it made no sense and it was beyond frustrating. That’s the one thing I will just say, I feel like I was losing the performer I knew I was capable of being. I didn’t feel like I was ‘Legit’ Leyla Hirsch. And that’s the most frustrating part. So when people like criticize AEW or Ring of Honor, I think to a certain extent, I can understand. Some fans, or like just some people, they can see what’s happening, you know? And no company is perfect. No company is ever perfect. Tony has a million things that he’s doing, that he’s orchestrating, right?”

Hirsch said she learned a lot — both good and bad — during her time with AEW. One of those lessons was that fans want stories. She knows AEW is capable of telling amazing stories like Mariah May vs. Toni Storm, but it was a struggle to get any storylines in ROH.

“I learned so much being with AEW. So much — good and bad. And the one thing I’ve learned is, like, with fans, what they want is stories. That’s one of the things with Ring of Honor, it just felt like such a struggle,” Hirsch said. “Because we wanted to tell stories. But then I feel like, any time we pitched something, I guess depending who you are, it just didn’t matter. So for me it just felt like nothing I did, or even if I tried, it wasn’t going to matter. Which as a performer, I think it sucks. Especially when, to me, like again, I care. I showed up every week to work, to do something, to make something happen. So, in that aspect, as a performer, it’s tough when you know there could be so much potential. You want Ring of Honor to succeed, you want the people in Ring of Honor to succeed, but, again, there’s so much that we don’t have control of. So when AEW does storylines, they’re amazing. I use Mariah and Toni as an example. Look at what they were able to do. But, again, they were invested in that. Like, Tony and the writers, they had a whole team. And for the rest of us, it’s like we kind of just had to figure it out.”

Six weeks before her contract was set to expire, Hirsch asked to have a conversation with Tony Khan about what the plan for her would be if she stayed with AEW. That conversation never happened, but she had a “really good” talk with one of the lawyers and someone else about her contract and her frustrations. Hirsch said she wanted to stay in AEW but wanted to grow as a performer.

Hirsch felt good about the talk and was told that she would hear back the first week of February, but they waited until two weeks before her deal was up to tell her that her contract was not being renewed. The deal expired on Hirsch’s wedding day.

If she was complacent, Hirsch feels like she would still be with AEW. But she doesn’t have any regrets over how things played out and feels like she handled things professionally. Hirsch said she’ll always be grateful for the platform AEW gave her. She would be open to returning in the future if the issues that caused her frustrations are changed.

Hirsch is set to compete against Jordan Blade at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XIII in Las Vegas this Thursday. On Sunday, she’ll be in Toronto to challenge Jody Threat for the Smash Wrestling Women’s Championship

The full episode of Soul Sessions can be watched below: