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AEW fans have patiently awaited the return of Wardlow for more than one year now. It appeared the dominant grappler was set to return last month, but plans were nixed with no explanation. Now, another unfortunate update on Wardlow's AEW future has been revealed ahead of the seventh annual Double or Nothing.
Mr. Mayhem has been on the shelf since March 2024's Dynamite: Big Business, where he suffered a knee injury while trying to dethrone Samoa Joe as the AEW World Champion. Wardlow had been scheduled to return to the ring on the indies during WrestleMania 41 weekend, but months after announcing the date, Pandemonium Pro Wrestling announced that the Ohio native had been pulled from its "The House Always Wins" event on April 17 due to unforeseen circumstances. There's been no update since, and things remain quiet as they have during most of his hiatus.
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Wardlow is currently dealing with knee surgery, according to Wrestling Observer Editor Dave Meltzer on X. No details were provided, and it appears this was a fairly recent operation, but that has not been confirmed. There is also no word yet on when the 37-year-old will be back in action.
Wardlow is tied with Cody Rhodes and Sammy Guevara for the most TNT Championship reigns at three. His first reign lasted 136 days, while the second ended after just three days. His final reign was nixed in 59 days.
AEW star Wardlow jokes about his past few years
Wardlow seems to be in good spirits despite his hiatus from the ring. A fan recently posted a Google search screenshot that shows a photo of Dr. Michael Wardlow from Ireland next to the heavyweight pro wrestler. The fan joked about how Mr. Mayhem is looking a little different these days, and the man himself replied.
"Past 3 [sic] years have been rough [older man emoji] [man shrugging emoji]!" Wardlow wrote.
The Irish doctor was photographed for a July 2016 BBC article. It seems the man's photo is no longer showing up on the front pages of various "Wardlow" searches on Google.
