Long-Term AEW Absentee Close To Returning To Action

This badass AEW favourite has been out of action for over a year.

by Andrew Pollard
Leyla Hirsch
AEW

Having been out of action for over a year due to injury, it looks as if AEW's Leyla Hirsch will soon be making her return to the ring.

Via Fightful Select, Legit Leyla is close to stepping back between the ropes, and she is currently preparing to make her return to active competition. Hirsch has been sidelined with an ACL tear she suffered in an AEW Dark: Elevation bout against Christina Marie back in April 2022.

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Prior to that setback, the 26-year-old Hirsch had won plentiful fans during her time with AEW, with her style of submissions, suplexes and throws catching the eye of many. Likewise, Leyla had received somewhat of a push after turning heel on Kris Statlander - including a win at AEW Revolution 2022 over Stat.

Of course, Statlander herself recently returned to the ring, shocking the world at Double or Nothing last weekend to bring an end to Jade Cargill's undefeated streak and become the new TBS Champion. Whether Hirsch vs. Statlander gets revisited remains to be seen, but those two have already shown that they've get plenty of chemistry together should they eventually lock horns once more down the line.

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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.