Michael Cole suddenly namedrops AEW legend at WWE Backlash 2025

The Voice of WWE Michael Cole suddenly namedropped a certain AEW legend tonight at Backlash. He did so just before the main event. Cole cited a bit of history right before the match.

Tonight's main event saw John Cena take on Randy Orton for possibly the final time in their career. This wasn't just a dream match, and the Undisputed WWE Championship was also on the line.

Moments before the match, Michael Cole brought up Cena becoming a 17-time World Champion, breaking the record he jointly held with Ric Flair previously. This is one of the biggest accolades Flair has achieved in his career spanning around five decades.

The WWE Hall of Famer was not present for this moment, as he revealed last month that he was still under a deal with All Elite Wrestling. He claimed that if he weren't working with Tony Khan, he would have been around for WrestleMania 41.

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A report came out a few days later from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter debunking Ric Flair's claim. It was revealed that this was not the case with AEW contracts and that there was nothing holding back The Nature Boy from appearing at WrestleMania 41.

This could have been a complete misunderstanding on the part of the wrestling legend.

About the author

Enzo is a Pro Wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda, reporting on AEW. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Multimedia Studies, which influenced his decision of taking up sports writing professionally, and has been an avid fan of the athletic theater since childhood. He believes readers deserve authentic and unique content and aims to report in a manner which pro wrestling fans can easily relate to.

Growing up, Enzo admired former world champions like AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, Bryan Danielson, Triple H, and Randy Orton for their finishing moves. As an adult, he started to appreciate their character work, as they juggled between heel and babyface gimmicks.

If allowed to produce one final storyline involving his idols, he would have Orton lock horns with John Cena, would be their one last big feud as both of them seem to be approaching the tail end of their careers.

Other than pro wrestling, Enzo enjoys keeping up with Basketball, Football, and Formula One. He also loves watching films, playing video games, and listening to music.

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Edited by Sayantan Niyogi