Brian Cage Requires Third Knee Surgery, Delays AEW Return

Brian Cage, a prominent wrestler with All Elite Wrestling, disclosed that he was scheduled to make his in-ring return at the company's Full Gear pay-per-view event in November but was sidelined by the need for a third knee surgery this year. The 40-year-old athlete, known as "The Machine," has been absent from AEW programming since March, when he last competed on the Collision show alongside Konosuke Takeshita and Lance Archer in a victory over Powerhouse Hobbs, Mark Briscoe, and Rocky Romero.

Cage's troubles began in April with a torn quadriceps injury that has kept him out for most of 2025, marking the longest absence of his two-decade career. In a virtual signing event for East Coast Autograph Auctions, he detailed the progression of his medical challenges, noting that he had undergone only one prior surgery—a bicep tear—before this year brought three procedures on his knee. "All things considered, this has been far and away the longest I've ever been out," Cage said. "I got some real shitty news that instead of coming back, which would have been at Full Gear, that I had to get another surgery, and yeah, to be out this long, three different surgeries... is pretty shitty."