Reason why Wardlow has been missing from AEW television reportedly disclosed

Former AEW TNT Champion Wardlow has been notably absent since 2023 began, having not been on TV since the turn of the new year. This begs the simple question: where is he?

Wardlow was last seen on the "New Year's Smash" edition of Dynamite on December 28th. He challenged Samoa Joe for the AEW TNT Championship in what turned out to be a losing effort.

Not only did "Mr. Mayhem" lose the match, but he was also attacked by Joe backstage before the match began, and had his trademark ponytail cut off after the match ended.

Since the haircut that he clearly wasn't consenting to, the big man hasn't been seen on AEW TV. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer wrote in his weekly newsletter this week that he is currently rehabbing an injury:

“When Wardlow did the match where Samoa Joe took out his leg, the reason he hasn’t been back for revenge and dropped the TNT title is due to an injury issue. The stuff with Joe was done to set up his taking time off. The injury is not believed to be one that will keep him out of action for a long time” (H/T WrestlePurists)

"Mr. Mayhem" lost the TNT Championship to Samoa Joe at the Full Gear pay-per-view in November 2022. The self-proclaimed "King of Television" has since lost the title as well. He was beaten by Darby Allin on January 4th 2023.

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The man who dethroned Wardlow as the TNT Champion will be in action this week on AEW Dynamite

After taking a few weeks off to charge his batteries following his loss to Darby Allin, Samoa Joe appeared on the Titantron on the January 25th edition of AEW Dynamite. He told Darby Allin that he's coming back for his title.

Following the call-out, AEW president Tony Khan made it official. Darby Allin will defend his TNT Championship against Samoa Joe in a no-holds barred match on February 1st.

The show will take place in Dayton, Ohio, which isn't too far away from Wardlow's hometown of Cleveland. This had left some to speculate that "Mr. Mayhem" could return to gain a measure of revenge on the man who cut off his ponytail.

Elsewhere on the show, Bryan Danielson will take on former WWE Superstar Timothy Thatcher, The Acclaimed will be in action, and the trilogy between Jon Moxley and Hangman Page will also be completed.

Are you looking forward to AEW Dynamite next week? Let us know in the comments section down below!