AEW Star Close To Return Against Doctors’ Advice After 20 Month Absence

One AEW star is closing in on a return to the ring against the wishes of his doctors after 20 months out of the ring.

Like any wrestling promotion, AEW has had to deal with its fair share of injuries over the years. Bryan Danielson has started in a new role with the company as his own in-ring career looks to be over. Wardlow is set for another spell on the sidelines despite only recently making his return to the company.

One star who has not been seen in an AEW ring since January 2024 is company original, The Blade. Injury has forced him out of action ever since he teamed with The Butcher and Kip Sabian in a loss to Mark Briscoe and The Hardys. But could a return be creeping closer?

The Blade Targeting AEW Return?

Speaking on Talk’N Shop podcast, The Blade explained exactly why he’s been out of action for so long and that he’s now in the process of getting cleared to return to the ring:

I had a back fusion, spinal fusion, on September 10th, 2024. So, it’s been about a year now, and I’m getting close to going back to the doctors, getting cleared, the whole thing.

Is it weird thinking about taking a back bump after that? Yeah, the thought of like—you know, I haven’t been in… doctors don’t want me in a ring, so like it’s been over a year. Yeah. It’s crazy. Yeah. I’m nervous. Like, I want you to be careful when we’re walking.. I mean, I’ve been wrestling 25 years and to not be in a ring for over a year now—weird, right? But now it’s to the point where I’m excited. Yeah. Like the scary stuff is over and now it’s just get excited.

The Blade went on to explain the nature of his injury and why surgery was the last option for his doctors:

Yeah, ‘cause with back stuff, surgery is the last option. So they’ll do physical therapy, they’ll give you a round of shots. They tried a whole bunch of different stuff, but it just got… it just got—what was the actual, like, what’s the nature of the injury? Yeah, it’s my L5-S1, which is the very last vertebrae, but that’s like the… when people get back [injuries], that’s usually the major one. It’s the bottom, right? Yeah. Yes, it’s the bottom. So, they fused that one.

I mean, you know, there were definitely some highs and lows that year where you don’t know what’s going to happen, but it feels really good that now it’s—that’s at the excitement.

The Blade’s wife, The Bunny, has also stepped foot in a ring again for the first time in two years as she resumes training. Unlike The Blade, The Bunny left AEW during her extended absence from wrestling.