All Elite Wrestling looks set to continue its impeccable run beyond All Out, with news that the “whole” AEW roster will be back by Wednesday night.
Tony Khan is always one for causing speculation among the diehard AEW fanbase, particularly when it’s just before a pay-per-view. With All Out 2022 just around the corner, however, he may have just struck gold with his comments on the pre-pay-per-view media call.
In response to Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston asking about the depleting weekly ratings for AEW Rampage, Tony Khan discussed that this was likely the cause of several top stars being out for the majority of the summer. He added that this won’t be the case much longer, with the “whole” roster expected back by Wednesday:
“Honestly, I’m really excited, man, because I want to reset and I am very cognizant for some of the fans that you know, some of what I did with Rampage in the summer was try to make the best of a situation where I wanted to load the show up with stars as we had in the beginning with the first episode of Rampage, matches like Kenny Omega vs. Christian [Cage]. And in the first year, matches like Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston, and CM Punk vs. Powerhouse Hobbs.
We have not been able to offer those kinds of matches because when those guidance guys have been healthy, I’ve had to put that kind of stuff on Dynamite just to be honest. And now we’re at a point where when the whole roster’s back by this week, I think this Friday on the live Rampage. Hopefully, it will be a preview of what’s in store after All Out because I think after All Out, the roster is going to be as strong as a place is it’s been a long time. It’s probably the strongest it’s ever been.”
Though not confirmed, this likely refers to the ongoing saga between AEW and MJF. ‘The Salt of the Earth’ was last seen on the post-Double or Nothing broadcast of Dynamite, pleading for Khan to fire him in a promo many consider to be on the same level – or even better – as CM Punk’s pipebomb from 2011.
Issues between AEW and MJF have been noted for months. Wardlow, MJF’s former accomplice, described him as “not a good person“, while no one from the company is alleged to have heard from him. It’s reported that he’s expected back in AEW soon.
Numerous other AEW stars are also currently out of commission, including Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Leyla Hirsch.