Photo: Wardlow looks absolutely jacked amid AEW absence

AEW star Wardlow is once again on the shelf after sustaining an unexpected injury about a couple of months ago. The powerhouse recently took to social media to share some photos of himself and is clearly in incredible shape even during his hiatus.

After being absent from All Elite Wrestling programming for over a year, Wardlow finally made his return earlier this August at Forbidden Door 2025. The War Dog appeared after Kazuchika Okada retained his Continental Title against Swerve Strickland at the pay-per-view, blindsiding The New Flavor's manager, Prince Nana, while he was trying to help Swerve recover from The Rainmaker's post-match ambush.

Wardlow further aligned himself with the ever-expanding Don Callis Family, and creative supposedly had "big plans" for the star en route to All Out: Toronto. However, it was reported some time later that Mr. Mayhem had been sidelined once again, this time due to a torn pectoral muscle. The 37-year-old has been on the mend since, and recently took to his Instagram to upload some photographs of himself looking jacked and in peak physical shape.

"🩸," Wardlow captioned his post.

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In Wardlow's absence, The Callis Family has added two new members to its ranks, namely the debuting El Clon and the returning Andrade El Idolo.

Wardlow's reaction to a past AEW match amidst hiatus

Wardlow was last seen in action inside an AEW ring last year at Dynamite: Big Business, where he unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the All Elite Wrestling World Championship. Unfortunately, the former TNT Champion's return to the squared circle has been delayed once again due to his recent injury.

Just over a week ago, the Cleveland native took to X/Twitter to share a highlight video of his 2022 title match with Brian Cage. In the caption, Wardlow shouted out The Machine and expressed how much he misses competing.

"D**n. I’m so strong, and big, and agile, and athletic, and good looking… shout out BC, loved this one. Miss this so d**n much it hurts," Wardlow posted.

Check out the tweet HERE.

Wardlow reminiscing on his bout vs Brian Cage [Image Credits: Wardlow's X profile]

It remains to be seen when Wardlow will make his next AEW comeback.

About the author

Anurag is an AEW writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling. He holds a BA and MA degree in English along with a TEFL certification to teach English. Before Sportskeeda, he worked as a Content and Correspondence writer at Nayabad Titas, a theater group. He has also worked as a English language tutor.

To ensure complete accuracy, he uses internet resources, social media platforms, and especially pieces composed by his peers to find solid, verified information that he presents as objectively as possible. Thanks to his academic background, he can research different subjects thoroughly.

Anurag's interest in wrestling began as a child. He watched RAW and Smackdown frequently from age 10 or 11 and was officially hooked by the YES Movement story in WWE heading into WrestleMania 30.

As a lifelong wrestling fan and lover of stories, Anurag would read news, articles, and other content about the talent and events he enjoyed watching. His understanding of the business continued to grow with time, and his interest in the art and sport of wrestling led him to pursue a career as a writer.

Apart from writing, he loves to read books, watch movies and television programs, play and listen to music, and write poetry and fiction.

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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee