Ex-WWE Champion Finally Returns To AEW After 759 Days
The latest AEW Collision episode saw a company talent return after 759 days.
Matt Sydal’s last match in the promotion was during the May 22, 2024, edition of Dynamite, where he lost to Konosuke Takeshita in a singles match.
Sydal, who has previously competed in WWE under the name Evan Bourne, made his first appearance for the rival company at the 2020 AEW All Out pay-per-view.
In June 2024, he underwent foot surgery to address a long-standing issue dating back to 2012 when he was involved in a motorcycle accident. The injury seemingly affected his in-ring athleticism, preventing him from executing maneuvers effectively.
On the June 20 episode of AEW Collision, he was featured in a backstage segment when he interrupted a meeting initiated by Christopher Daniels with his Skyflight crew.
After confirming that he had secured a singles match between Dante Martin and Mistico, he invited Matt Sydal, calling him “one of my favorite tag team partners” and recalling their time in Ring of Honor, when they won the ROH Tag Team Championship.
Daniels proceeded to welcome Sydal and promised him that Skyflight had his back no matter which route he wanted to pursue.
Sydal claimed that his time away was the hardest recovery of his life, but he was determined to take the leap and achieve unprecedented success.
Did you hear the good news? @MattSydal is back, and @facdaniels guarantees that SkyFlight has his back!
Watch #AEWCollision on TNT & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/6wrS4Z0PCN
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 21, 2026
Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament Semi-final Sees Upset On AEW Collision
On Collision, the main event match featured the Women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament semi-final match between Athena and Maya World.
Defending champion Mercedes Moné already qualified for the final on Dynamite by defeating Hazuki.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena was the favorite to win in this student versus protege clash, but she was aware of the World’s ability to cause an upset.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Athena dominated the majority of the match, but in the closing minutes, she made the mistake of nudging her opponent by mentioning her older brother, who recently passed away.
Maya World retaliated with a flurry of elbows. Athena regained stability and hit her opponent with the O-Face, only to secure a near pinfall.
When Athena subsequently charged at her, World ducked and applied a bridging roll-up to register the upset.
After the match, Athena hugged World. This led to Mercedes Moné coming out to face her challenger at Forbidden Door on June 28.
Moné hugged her, too. However, Athena blindsided her with a strike to the face. Both she and Moné assaulted World before Moné applied the Statement Maker to end the evening.