When Brian Cage lost a Philadelphia Streetfight to Ricky Starks on October 6th, 2021 in a match for the FTW Championship, it felt like a mildly consequential contest. Sure, Cage had just been turned on by Team Taz earlier in the year, and had his FTW Championship stripped by Starks thanks to an assist by Powerhouse Hobbs at Fyter Fest, but did anyone really expect that said Rampage match would be the final time AEW fans would see him until Grand Slam 2022, when Cage took part in the Golden Ticket Battle Royal?

Now granted, according to Tony Khan, this was intentional; the multi-brand promoter, by his own admission, wanted to use Cage on Ring of Honor moving forward, as he was quietly looking to fill out a roster for when ROH secured a television deal, but considering the company has run just two shows since it was acquired by Khan, one of which, Supercard of Honor, was booked under the previous administration, that wasn't exactly encouraging for the performer or the fans who enjoy his work.

Unfortunate? For Cage, most definitely; going from an uppermidcarder who secured wins over once and future champions like “Hangman” Adam Page, Darby Allin, and Cody Rhodes to an unwanted performer relegated to wrestling indie dates can't be easy. Still, Cage sucked up his ego and made it work, wrestling for XPW, CCW, VxS, MCW, WSW, and most notably Warrior Wrestling, where he had a fantastic run with “Kid Cage” KC Navarro. When ROH ran shows, Cage showed up and showed out, and even if his initial run wasn't drama free, as he joined Tully Blanchard Enterprises only to watch the faction get “bought out” by Prince Nana and be renamed The Embassy, the former Impact Champion kept things professional and even made light of the situation on social media.

But now? Now Cage isn't letting Nana, Blanchard, or even Taz speak for him and his business. No, after watching Wardlow ask for someone to step up and take part in his TNT Championship Open Challenge on social media, Cage got out the old video camera and shot himself a video in front of a very interesting background to finally stake his claim in his own words.

Cage wants to leave his first AEW Dynamite of 2022 as a champion.

Cutting a promo in front of a green screen like it's the 1990s, Cage spoke on his desire to not only return to AEW but come back in a major way.

“Oh hey, Cage, where you been, man?” Cage asked rhetorically. “’Where you at? Are you even with AEW anymore?’ These are the questions I get week, after week, after week, and where I’ve been is beating a– on ROH and all over the world for that matter. Creating an undefeated streak, waiting for the perfect opportunity to return to AEW. It just so happens that this Wednesday is the three-year anniversary of AEW Dynamite, and during those three years, you’re looking at one of the most dominant forces that show has ever seen. And look it was not just me waiting, it was the fans, the fans have been waiting for the return of ’The Machine’ cause they know the answer to the question ‘who better than Brian Cage’ is nobody. So not ‘who betta’ but what better date than the three-year anniversary of Dynamite for ‘The Machine’ to make his return. For one of the biggest, the best, the most jacked AEW stars we’ve ever had and ever will have, to return and become the champion he’s destined to be?”

With his one-man hype-up routine done, Cage finally made his intentions clear that his forthcoming return is about business, not pleasure.

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Samoa Joe holding the AEW World Championship with with 2024 AEW Dynamite logo as the background.

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Wardlow with a text bubble reading “I’m the Best in the World!” next to AEW CM Punk with the AEW logo as the background.

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The blacked out silhouette of Eric Bischoff with a text bubble reading “Eh, I think she’s overrated” next to Ronda Rousey with the Ring of Honor logo as the background.

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“TNT Championship Open Challenge, that’s right Wardlow, I’m talking to you,” Cage declared. “You think you’re special now, huh? You think you’re some star, you think you’re some stud? Why, because you power bombed some bums? Because you’ve beaten some sloppy joes? Get real, that’s no big deal, that’s not special; I can do that any day of the week and twice on Sundays. You’ve been taking the path of least resistance when the real competition is right here, standing in front of you, calling your a– out. Man vs. Machine, three-year anniversary of AEW Dynamite.”

Will it work? Will the element of surprise be enough for Cage to best Wardlow and reestablish himself at the AEW level? Or will Wardlow win out so he can continue to… honestly, no one is really sure what the plan for Wardlow is at the moment, as Brian Alvarez and company discussed here. Either way, it'll be nice to see “The Machine” back on AEW television once more, as he's put in the work to deserve a second chance.