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Few personalities in wrestling get the reaction in wrestling that Dan Lambert does. Every time the manager and founder of American Top Team touched a microphone in AEW, fans booed him so loudly that even Dominik Mysterio would be impressed. Outside of a few gimmick matches, Dan Lambert wasn't a wrestler. The 53-year-old was instead a mouthpiece for his American Top Team faction, one that was filled with potential but never really took off to become more than a midcard act. Still, Lambert was over, doing his job like few can. It was a surprise then when he walked away from AEW last summer.
Dan Lambert's Role In Wrestling
Before Dan Lambert was a wrestling personality, he was a businessman. In 2001, he formed what is now one of the biggest MMA gyms in the country, American Top Team. Lambert was more than just a fan of mixed martial arts though. He also loved professional wrestling. It led to American Top Team getting involved in the spot. Lambert even worked with Bobby Lashley during his days in IMPACT Wrestling. After that he also did a stint in Major League Wrestling as a manager.
It was in 2021 when Lambert and American Top Team landed in AEW. He was aligned with Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky in a faction, and while they were entertaining, the faction never left the midcard. Reaction on Dan Lambert was mixed from fans. When he got on the mic and started yelling his promos, you either booed him because he was so good in his role, the way fans boo MJF of Dominik Mysterio, or you booed him because he was genuinely annoying.
Dan Lambert was last seen in AEW during the summer of 2022. American Top Team was back with new members added, including Paige Van Zant. Scorpio Sky was the TNT Champion, but after he lost the title in July, Lambert disappeared. He hasn't been seen in AEW since.
RELATED: American Top Team Owner Dan Lambert Says Ronda Rousey's Promos Make Him "Cringe"
Dan Lambert Told Tony Khan He Was Ready To Leave AEW
So why did Dan Lambert leave AEW when he was such a weekly focal point on TV? In October, Lambert answered that question in an interview on Inside with Chris Van Vliet. “About, maybe, two months ago we finished up our feud with the Men of the Year and Scorpio Sky against Wardlow, and Sky dropped the belt to Wardlow. Sky was going to take a couple months off because he had a knee injury that needed to heal and [Ethan] Page was getting repackaged to doing what he’s doing now with The Firm and the work with MJF.
“So, I just thought that was a good time. Seemed like it was winding down, I felt like I was getting stale even though the reactions were still good, it was still fun. I just grabbed Tony [Khan] after that show and said, ‘I think it ran its course, I don’t want to go backward or overstay my welcome so I think that’s going to do it for me,’ and he was like, ‘Oh man, sure, whatever you want, if maybe we come up with a good idea you come back in the future.’” (h/t Cageside Seats)
In an interview with WrestleBinge by Sportskeeda earlier this year, Lambert went into more detail. "I got a little sick of the people in AEW, the fans. All they do is whine, all they do is b***h, all they do is moan. If I wanted to do that every Wednesday I would just sit home with my wife. So, I took a little break, and I am back home and readjusting and figuring out what's next in the future. I really don't like the fans... It's one of those things where the sum of all the parts is less than those parts, something about the whole thing and you mix it in with the fans in the audience it kind of makes me sick." (h/t Wrestling Inc.)
RELATED: AEW's Dan Lambert Says He Finds Current WWE 'Hard To Watch'
Dan Lambert Isn't Such A Heel Off-Screen
Dan Lambert's Sportskeeda comments about the fans may have been a little in character, for in the same interview, Lambert went off on Cody and Brandi Rhodes, the latter who he was feuding with just before the couple left AEW. "I may not have liked Cody [Rhodes] while I was there, I may not have liked Brandi [Rhodes] even less when I was there. Just because he played the politics game better than anybody in history and sucked up to Tony Khan, man, and got his way all the time. And what the hell is a ‘Chief Brand Officer?’ What does that even mean, other than to feed your ego?”
In real life, however, Lambert did something incredibly kind for Cody. Dan Lambert is an avid wrestling memorabilia collector. When Cody Rhodes went to WWE, Lambert presented him with a very memorable gift: the old WWWF Championship belt that Dusty Rhodes and "Superstar" Billy Graham wrestled for at Madison Square Garden in 1977. Rhodes lost the match and never won that championship, but he got to hold the tile for a famous photo. Cody told Variety, "I’m excited to bring the WWWF Championship belt that I acquired a few months ago, the one that Superstar and Dusty fought over. I’m excited to carry that in my bag." When asked how he got the belt, Cody said, "Believe it or not — I bet you he doesn’t want me to say his name, but it’s funny. Dan Lambert. He handed it to me for no money and said, 'I thought it should belong to you.'"
