A high-profile AEW star has made a shock return to the ring after more than a year out of action.
Brandi Rhodes has made her return to in-ring action at the latest taping for AEW Dark. Rhodes, who hadn’t wrestled since October 2020, only gave birth to her daughter Liberty six months ago.
That last match also came on Dark where she teamed with Red Velvet to defeat Elayna Black and Leyla Hirsch. Her most recent singles match had come the week before as she overcame KiLynn King.
News of the return against Angelica Risk was confirmed by Jacob Cohen on Twitter. You can see images of the appearance below.
Scoop #2: Brandi Rhodes vs Angelica Risk pic.twitter.com/HO5s7EtqJy
— Jacob Cohen (@MrJacobCohen) December 3, 2021
Brandi Rhodes made her return to AEW television on the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite. In the show’s main event her husband Cody went to war with Andrade El Idolo in a Atlanta Street Fight. There was weapons, blood and chaos galore as the two men put it all on the line. The end of the match came with Cody and Andrade battling on the top rope, with a table below.
As the pair struggled, a masked intruder, quickly revealed to be Brandi rushed into the ring and set the table on fire. Cody promptly suplexed Andrade through the flaming table to grab the win, setting himself on fire in the process.
Earlier in 2021, Brandi had expressed her desire to return to the ring, even before her daughter was born. The star said it was “definitely going to happen” for the fans that missed her and to prove her doubters wrong.
Upon joining AEW Rhodes made history as the first Black woman to hold an executive position in a professional wrestling company.
During her career, Rhodes as appeared as a professional wrestler and actor as well as being a competitive figure skater.