"Bittersweet" Return For AEW Original After 2 Years On Sidelines (AEW News)
AEW Dynamite was a strange occasion for this returning wrestler. The moment wasn't lost on him.
Wardlow has described his first match in over 2 years as "bittersweet".
The big man has spent ample time on the sidelines for various reasons over the past couple of years, but he returned to the ring on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite. Unfortunately, that was also a tribute episode for Benjamin 'PAC' Satterley, who sadly passed away aged just 40 on 27 September.
Tony Khan's company honoured the Englishman's memory on the flagship, but also welcomed Wardlow back into the fold. He hadn't wrestled since putting Samoa Joe over in an AEW World Title bout on the 13 March 2024 show. So, this was a long time coming for MJF's former heavy.
Wardlow teamed with fellow Don Callis Family members Josh Alexander, Mark Davis, Lance Archer and Jake Doyle to take on Bryan Danielson and members of The Death Riders: Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Wheeler Yuta and Gabe Kidd.
It was a poignant event for everybody, but Wardlow took to social media afterwards looking to explain his "bittersweet" experience on the night.
Clearly, he was thrilled to be back in the mix on AEW television, but he was also "extremely saddened by the loss of one the best wrestlers and humans I’ve ever met". Then, Wardlow thanked fans in Pittsburgh "for the love that was shown".
There were tears aplenty on Dynamite, and understandably so. PAC had only just wrestled his last match vs. Andrade El Idolo as part of the All Out pay-per-view on 26 September, so his death came as a real shock to everybody.