Wardlow Returns at Forbidden Door, Joins Don Callis Family

Wardlow made a surprise return to All Elite Wrestling on Sunday at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay‑per‑view, attacking a ringside aide and security after Kazuchika Okada retained the AEW Unified Championship against Swerve Strickland. The former TNT champion then aligned himself with Don Callis and the Don Callis Family, ending a more than yearlong absence from AEW programming.

Okada defeated Strickland in the main event and continued to target Strickland's injured leg after the match, repeatedly striking it with a steel chair and driving it into the ring steps. As Prince Nana rushed in to protect Strickland, Wardlow emerged in a black suit, blindsided Nana with a clothesline and proceeded to lay into him while Strickland was immobilized. Security moved in to intervene, but Wardlow fought through them before exiting the ring and walking up the ramp to embrace Callis, who stood alongside Okada and other members of the faction.

Accounts of Konosuke Takeshita's reaction to Wardlow's return differ. Some reports said Takeshita entered to a large ovation, stared down Wardlow and then nodded in approval, signaling a welcome into the group. Other accounts described a tense stare...