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Tony Khan Reacts To Shocking Return Of Former AEW Champion At Forbidden Door

By John Canton • Published Jun 29, 2026 14:00 EDT
Tony Khan AEW
Tony Khan AEW. Image Credit: AEW

Tony Khan revealed some details about an AEW wrestler who is back after a long hiatus.

The last time Jay White had a match in an AEW ring was in March 2025 on Collision when he defeated Kevin Knight in a match.

In April 2025, it was revealed that Jay White had a broken hand that needed surgery, and he’s been off AEW television until his surprising return at the Forbidden Door PPV in San Jose.

During the AEW World Tag Team Title match, the referee was bumped, and the lights went out as Adam Copeland & Christian Cage were defending the titles against The Dogs duo of David Finlay and Clark Connors.

When the lights came back on, the Bang Bang Gang appeared on the stage, while a returning Jay White was in the ring. White hit Finlay with a Bladerunner slam into the mat, and Copeland hit a Spear on Finlay to get the win. Jay White reunited with the Bang Bang Gang after the match.

At the AEW Forbidden Door post-show media scrum, AEW Owner-President and head of creative Tony Khan spoke about the rivalry between the Bang Bang Gang and The Dogs.

“I think it has worked great that there has been a lot of friction between the Bang Bang Gang and The Dogs. Particularly, as of late. And even though Jay White has not been on the shows, the Bang Bang Gang has been represented. And we have seen the Bang Bang Gang allude that there was gonna be comeuppance for The Dogs.”

Tony Khan Confirms Jay White Is Cleared To Return

As he continued, Tony Khan made the point that Forbidden Door was the perfect place for Jay White to return since he used to be part of New Japan Pro Wrestling and had a history with The Dogs when he was there.

“Jay White came, and he got some payback. I thought Forbidden Door was the perfect place for him to make his return, given how he arrived here in the first place. And given the way he was exited from New Japan Pro Wrestling.”

The AEW boss, Tony Khan, went on to reveal that Jay White just got cleared. Khan didn’t clarify if White had an injury other than the hand that required surgery, but clearly, White is back in action after missing over a year of in-ring action.

“Jay White actually just officially got cleared this week. So this was something we were hoping he was gonna get cleared. And he has just been physically cleared, and it’s huge excitement. So this was something we were hoping and aiming towards and working for. It came out and worked perfectly.”

During his AEW run so far, Jay White is a former AEW Trios Champion who has also competed for other major championships in AEW, including the World Title. At the age of 33, White still has many more years ahead of him as a wrestler.

AEW has yet to announce whether Jay White will be on Dynamite this Wednesday, but since he returned at Forbidden Door, a Dynamite return appears to be a possibility.