Wardlow is almost back — and when he returns, he wants fans to know everything he has been through during one of the most difficult periods of his life. Speaking with BCP+, the AEW star addressed his torn pec injury, a car accident that preceded it, the loss of his friend and his dog, and what two-plus years away from the ring has genuinely cost him on a personal level.
“I miss Wardlow so bad. It’s been over two years since I’ve wrestled. Basically everything I have loved and cared about was taken away from me almost all at once. From my friend to my dog to wrestling to the ability to work out — everything I loved was taken from me, and I miss wrestling so much I can’t even put it into words. I do wanna apologize to the fans for my absence, and for completely going ghost on social media. I just kind of hid under a rock for a while. I will never be absent again, and we’re very, very close to being ready,” Wardlow said.
He was also emphatic about correcting the record on his injury history, noting that the torn pec at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door last August was genuinely the first time he had ever taken time off for an injury — a fact he wanted to establish clearly given online discourse about wrestlers and injuries.
Wardlow Revealed He Flew Across the Country With His Hip Popped Out of Place After a Car Accident
The most remarkable detail in his account was what happened after the car accident that preceded his extended absence. “Most people after that car accident would have been in a hospital bed. I didn’t even go to the hospital. I got in my car, went to the airport, and flew across the country for work, and I had to stand in the bathroom most of the flight because it hurt so bad to sit down. When I got to work, our doctors took a look at me and my hip was actually popped out of place — I flew there with my hip out of place — and they popped it right back into place right there.” He ultimately decided to take time off only after the creative storyline he had been looking forward to was cancelled for the second or third time while he was already dealing with the aftermath of the accident. He then filmed American Gladiators before returning to AEW at Forbidden Door — where he immediately tore his pec. Despite everything, Wardlow closed on a characteristic note of defiance. “We are most definitely going to come back the biggest, baddest version of Wardlow that anybody’s ever seen.”
