Former AEW star gets emotional after long-awaited return, pays homage to Shawn Michaels

Iconic wrestlers are not just mentors, they are inspirations to current and even up-and-coming wrestlers, including a former AEW wrestler. One such inspiration is Shawn Michaels, the two-time WWE Hall of Famer. And when one former AEW wrestler returned to the ring, she got emotional and paid a unique kind of homage to Shawn Micheals.

That wrestler in question is Kylie Rae, who made her return to the indies at the Freelance Wrestling special, From Freelance With Love. As news and videos of her return surfaced online, Rae began responding to some of the posts.

"I cried so hard," she replied.

During her appearance, she was wearing bottoms that were pretty similar to the ones that The Heartbreak Kid wore at WWE SummerSlam in 1995.

During that event, Shawn and Razor Ramon feuded and finally faced each other for the Intercontinental Title, with Shawn defending. The ladder match has gone down in history as one of the most intense pieces of storytelling in wrestling history.

Former AEW wrestler Kylie Rae seems to be an HBK fan through and through

This is not the first time that Kylie has paid tribute to Michaels. She is also known to use HBK's iconic move, Sweet Chin Music, as part of her repertoire.

"Day 28: Solely bcuz I’m an HBK Stan. August, 2020. Crown Point, IN."

Rae has taken an incredible journey in wrestling and started her career in the Indies in 2016. She had made appearances in WWE and was with AEW for one year in 2019.

She was with Impact Wrestling for three years, from 2019 to 2021, and NWA for one year. The multiple-championship winner has also worked in NXT and WWE: Main Event. Rae had earlier spoken about why she left AEW and said it was her choice.

What do you think? Should Rae return to the Jacksonville-based company? Or should she try to get back to WWE NXT, where Shawn Michaels is now the Senior Vice President? Tell us in the comments section.