Ah, Lio Rush; does any other wrestler in AEW or otherwise draw such passionate reactions when their name is invoked? … oh yeah, a lot of them do.

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When Rush made his debut in AEW, it was a big deal. He initially debuted as the Joker in the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing 2021, and fans fantasy booked all kinds of matches for the “man of the hour,” and he seemed to be genuinely excited to be back on national television.

Would he wrestle similarly athletic performers like Rey Fenix, or how about big-time brutes like Miro, who was TNT champion at the time?

Well, as it turns out, the answer would be none of the above, at least not right away; Rush suffered an AC injury in his debut performance that made him prematurely announce his ‘retirement', and he didn't take to an AEW ring until November 10th when he wrestled with Dante Martin against Matt Sydal and Lee Moriarty after a few weeks of promos anticipating his return.

After some solid bouts and a mini-program with Dante Martin and Matt Sydal, alas, it wasn't meant to be; after that program, Rush opted not to renew his short-term contract following the Tony Khan-Big Swole controversy, and after suffering an injury at PWG against Buddy Mathews, he has been focusing more on music while he heals up again.

Has the world of wrestling seen the last of Rush? No, after four months away, the charismatic performer returned at NJPW's Capital Collision, cutting a promo that teases a proper return to the ring.

Things have been going so well for Rush that, in an interview with the Generation of Wrestling podcast, he declared that the door was not closed for an AEW return, and could conceivably return in the not too distant future.

Could another short-term run in AEW potentially give fans whiplash? Sure, but there are plenty of great potential matches for Rush that would make it worth it.

3 potential return feuds for Leo Rush in AEW.

3. Dante Martin.

Before leaving AEW, Lio Rush was all-in on a feud with Dante Martin that ballooned out to feature everyone from Matt Sydal to Lee Moriarty and even Team Taz. While Rush only met Sydal, Moriarty, Starks, and Hobbs once in competition as part of the Dynamite Diamond Ring Battle Royal, and he never actually wrestled against Dante Martin, as the duo only tagged together, the feud was ultimately iced out before things could get interesting and all parties involved moved on to new angles one way or another.

If Rush returns to AEW, Martin has to be one of his first foes back in the promotion, especially since the Top Flight reunion many a fan has been waiting for has unfortunately been put been on hold by another injury to Dante's brother Darius. Give the duo a mid-card feud to elevate their careers moving forward, or make the duo a fixture of Ring Of Honor; either way, it could be a fun way to help two promising performers out in more than just a spot-up match against a top star like Jon Moxley.

2. Keith Lee

Lio Rush and Keith Lee have shared the ring four times during their professional wrestling careers; a win by Rush at Joey Janela's Spring Break, two wins by Lee at PWG, including a trios match that also featured Trent Beretta, and a tag team match where the duo defeated Damian Priest and Tony Nese in an NXT ring.

And yet, despite spending quite a bit of time in the same promotions, the duo never actually had a proper, multi-month feud in the same promotion.

Fortunately, Tony Khan can change that.

With Lee's program with Strickland heating up and a tag team match between “Swerve in our Glory” and Team Taz set for a future episode of AEW television, inserting Rush into the feud now might not be the ideal situation before Forbidden Door. But when the duo does fully split off, pairing up Strickland and Rush as a duo versus Lee could create some pretty compelling stories moving forward.

1. Swerve Strickland

If AEW wants to insert Rush into the Lee-Strickland storyline but doesn't want to stack like on top of like, squaring off one enigmatic performer with musical aspirations against another with the “Limitless One” in his corner could be incredibly interesting to watch.

Fortunately, since Swerve and Rush have wrestled 20 times over their respective careers thus far, a reignition of the feud likely wouldn't require too many growing pains.

Though the duo haven't shared the ring together since January of 2020, and Strickland wasn't even a member of AEW when Rush performed for the promotion, bringing the latter back to face off against the former could be a money angle that keeps things interesting on Rampage and would allow Lee to turn his attention to the TNT Title, which, if his reactions from crowds the nation have clearly proven, the people would love to see.