AEW may be looking to bring a wrestling veteran into the fold.
According to a report from Fightful Select, Chris Hero was backstage at Collision in Chicago. He is seemingly set to begin working with the company in a backstage capacity on a trial basis.
Over the course of a career that has lasted for over two decades, he wrestled in promotions all over the world including ROH, Pro Wrestling NOAH, CZW, and Pro Wrestling Guerilla. His work on the independent scene earned him a reputation as one of the greatest indy wrestlers of his generation as well as having a great mind for the wrestling business.
The star also had two stints in WWE under the name Kassius Ohno. His first run in the promotion from 2011-2013 saw him working in NXT with little success. He left the company on good terms, preferring to return to the independents.
He returned to the company in 2016, again as part of the developmental brand. This time, he had high-profile programs with the likes of KENTA – then known as Hideo Itami – Keith Lee, and Matt Riddle.
In 2019, he moved to the NXT UK brand where he remained until he was released from his contract in 2020. His last match so far saw him unsuccessfully taking part in a Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT UK Championship.
Despite staying out of the ring for the last three years, Hero recently insisted that he hasn’t retired quite yet and, if he did, everyone would know about it as he would have at least a week-long celebration of the event.
While Hero was likely a welcome presence backstage at Collision due to his history with many in the company, a more controversial AEW figure was nowhere to be found.
Ace Steel was not present at AEW Collision
Ace Steel was fired from AEW in the aftermath of the infamous brawl that occurred backstage following CM Punk‘s tirade against The Elite and Colt Cabana at the media scrum after All Out back in September.
In recent months, Steel was quietly rehired and is reportedly set to be “heavily involved” in the creative direction of Collision. However, this seemingly doesn’t extend to him being there in person.
Fighftul Select noted that he was not present in Chicago and isn’t expected to be backstage at any Collision events in the near future.