AEW Favourite Set For Lengthy Injury Absence

This popular AEW star is set for a significant spell on the sidelines.

by Andrew Pollard
AEW All In 2023 Ortiz
AEW

AEW's Ortiz has revealed he's set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a pec tear.

Appearing on Isiah Kassidy's vlog, Ortiz explained how he injured his pec when hitting a clothesline. The star will undergo surgery in two weeks, with him then expecting a four-month recovery period before he'll return "more jacked with a mullet and a moustache".

Speaking on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer speculated that it could be "eight or nine months, maybe more" before Ortiz is cleared to return to the ring.

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Ortiz last wrestled on the 20 January episode of AEW Collision, where he and Eddie Kingston came up short against the Blackpool Combat Club's Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli. Seemingly, it was during this match that the injury occurred.

Of course, last year saw the long-standing Pride-N-Powerful/LAX/EYFBO pairing of Ortiz and Mike Santana come to an end. With Satana seemingly wanting to be used in a more prominent role, and Ortiz happy with how PNP were positioned in AEW, the two partners went their separate ways. In the time since then, Santana has exited AEW, with him having already had talks with WWE amidst other strong interest from TNA Wrestling.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.