Add as a preferred source on Google Matt Sydal may be close to returning to the ring for AEW after a long stretch away from the company’s programming.
According to PWInsider’s Mike Johnson, there have been recent talks about Sydal potentially returning to an AEW ring in the near future. Sydal had been out of action after undergoing foot surgery tied to lingering issues from a motorcycle accident, which had affected his in-ring work for years.
Sydal underwent the procedure in June 2024. At the time, he revealed that the surgery would require breaking and re-fusing three bones in his right foot, along with surgical hardware to set his toes back into the joints.
The situation was treated as a necessary correction after more than a decade of pain. Even so, Sydal returned to the ring outside of AEW in 2025, facing Ultimo Dragon in July in a match held outside the United States.
Despite that, his absence from AEW has lasted quite some time. His most recent match for the company took place on May 22, 2024, when he was defeated by Konosuke Takeshita.
It is important to note that Sydal remains under contract with AEW. In November 2025, a company representative confirmed to Fightful Select that he was still part of the roster, even though he had not been used on television.
Sydal made his AEW debut in 2020 at All Out as a surprise entrant in the Casino Battle Royale. Since then, he has primarily been used as a veteran presence, working matches against names such as Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, PAC, Kenny Omega, and Swerve Strickland.