Two AEW Stars Test Positive for COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic reached All Elite Wrestling's roster this week, as both Matt Jackson and Brandon Cutler have reportedly tested positive. The Young Bucks confirmed Matt's diagnosis via their Twitter bio, writing, "Loyal to a fault, but sometimes have to make executive decisions. Always book ourselves strong. Our future grandkids are set for life. Matt has covid." Wrestling Observer's Bryan Alvarez then noted Cutler's diagnosis and said both he and The Bucks won't be back on TV — including AEW Dynamite's TBS debut tonight and the Battle of the Belts special on Saturday — until everyone is cleared.
The news could put one of AEW's biggest current storylines on pause. Back in mid-November Kyle O'Reilly made his surprise debut with the company, effectively reuniting the original Undisputed Era trilogy with Adam Cole and Bobby Fish. But the Bucks have seemed unsure about the inclusion of O'Reilly and Fish (also known as reDRagon) and O'Reilly still hasn't forgotten about his feud with Cole in NXT that spanned several months and three wildly violent matches. This potentially puts Cole in the awkward spot of having to choose between The Undisputed Era and The Elite.
AEW president Tony Khan talked about the significance of reuniting the trio in AEW during an interview with ComicBook last week — "I really do value that. It reminds me in sports, say in football, you play against an opponent, and they have great players. And if you could sign those players that used to compete with you, and give you trouble when you were game-planning. If these were the people you game-planned against and knew that these would be the toughest matchups, then to bring those people onto your team, those are some of the best acquisitions you can make. And to be able to add Adam Cole and Bobby Fish, and now to have Kyle O'Reilly make his debut on AEW Dynamite this week, I think it's very special. It's that much more special to do it in Daily's Place, the home of AEW, where we've competed against those guys (WWE) so much. And to have that act, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Bobby Fish come in against one of our top homegrown acts, Orange Cassidy, and The Best Friends, it's a big, big deal here. It's very symbolic, it's very fitting. I'm very happy JR (Jim Ross, returning from his battle with skin cancer) is going to return to the broadcast booth, and he'll be there to call that match. It should be great."
