Wardlow’s Recovery Timeline Revealed Following AEW Return Setback

Wardlow’s AEW return was supposed to be a reset—his chance to finally get back on track after over a year away. Instead, it’s turned into another long stretch on the sidelines.

On the September 8 episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez confirmed that Wardlow suffered a torn pectoral muscle during his comeback and could be out for up to eight months—or longer. Meltzer laid out the timeline clearly when discussing the severity of the injury.

“Yeah, I tell you what, torn pec, that’s like six to eight months. More, probably.”

While there’s no official word yet on whether it’s a full tear, Bryan Alvarez noted that people in AEW are still unsure how bad it really is.

“I did hear from one person that they weren’t sure the severity of it, so I don’t know if it’s a full tear or just a partial tear, but he definitely tore his pec and he’s going to be gone for a little while.”

Meltzer followed up with a discouraging update: even if it’s not a full tear, surgery is still likely.

“They don’t know the severity of it, but he’s going to need surgery. It’s going to be a long time.”

The injury reportedly occurred during a simple lariat spot with Stokely Hathaway—not even a full match. And after months of shooting American Gladiators, it was a routine move in the ring that ended up costing him another stretch of in-ring time.

“It’s a lariat on Stokely is what I think happened. And it just went.”

Wardlow was scheduled to align with the Don Callis Family and had real momentum behind his return. But now, fans likely won’t see him wrestle again until sometime in spring or summer 2026—if things go according to plan.

“He was set to do some stuff,” Meltzer said. “He’s on one TV and then he disappeared.”

If the pec injury is confirmed to be a full tear with surgery involved, six months is the best-case scenario—but even that would put Wardlow out until March 2026, and recovery often extends further.

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