Top Star Returns During AEW Rampage Tapings

A bulk of the All Elite Wrestling roster has yet to show face in 2023. Stars like Kyle O'Reilly, CM Punk, Andrade El Idolo, Miro and others have stayed off of AEW TV due to injury, locker room issues, or a lack of creative direction. While fans await the return of those aforementioned names, AEW has slowly began to bring back some of its top talent. Both Adam Cole and Wardlow have made their comebacks to AEW Dynamite in recent weeks, starting new storylines and also resuming old ones. Like Wardlow's reignited rivalry with TNT Champion Samoa Joe, there's another AEW star that ended 2022 with untied loose ends.

This past December, AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash saw the long-awaited split of former AEW Tag Team Champions Swerve in Our Glory. Swerve Strickland executed a sneak attack on former tag partner Keith Lee, using rapper Rick Ross as a distraction as Parker Boudreaux and the debuting Granden Goetzman brought the fight to the Limitless One, officially forming the Mogul Affiliates. This beatdown culminated in Strickland stomping a cinder block through Lee's chest. Lee has been absent ever since.

Warning – The rest of this article contains spoilers for Friday's AEW Rampage.

That changed during Wednesday's AEW Rampage taping. Strickland vs. Dustin Rhodes ended in disqualification when Boudreaux interfered, attacking The Natural. As Strickland and Boudreaux were beating down Rhodes, Lee's music hit. As the Mogul Affiliates anticipated Lee's entrance, Lee jumped the group from behind.

With just over two weeks until AEW Revolution, this appears to be planting the first seed for an eventual Strickland vs. Lee singles match. If that match goes down at the upcoming pay-per-view, it would be a full circle moment of sorts for both men. Strickland signed his AEW contract at last year's AEW Revolution, while Lee competed in the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match on that same show.

AEW Revolution goes down on Sunday, March 5th.