When the man formerly known to the professional wrestling world as Alexander Rusev made his debut in AEW, it was largely met with negative reactions from new and old fans alike.

Now granted, the initial pop of seeing the “Bulgarian Brute” in an AEW ring was very much there, as fans loved to see now-named Miro on their programming, but his new role, being a Gucci-wearing best man of Kip Sabian, was largely considered a waste of the super-sized former United States Champion's talents both in the ring and as a character. Sure, he was good for the occasional comedy spot and looked dominant when tasked with actually going to the mat against other wrestlers, but in a world where Brodie Lee and Lance Archer were being booked like monsters among men, Miro's presentation was odd to say the least.

And yet, when his best man duties were done, the wedding of Sabian and Penelope Ford went off without a hitch – okay, there were more than a few hitches – and Arcade Anarchy was ultimately played out, Miro finally turned on his former friend and Pillman-ized his arm to a damaging degree. Since that fateful April day back in 2021, Miro's AEW story has gone full circle – he won the TNT Championship as the in-ring conduit of God, lost the belt after being forsaken by his creator, and, after a few months off to take care of Hollywood business, is back in an AEW ring to wage wars with both the House of Black and his creator him/her/itself.

Freed from Kip's clutches, Miro had himself a moment, won and lost a championship, and then went off to spend time with his WWE manager-turned-real-life-wife CJ Perry, but what about Sabian? Since being “taken care of” by Miro, he hasn't shown his face on television, let alone actually wrestled a match. Is Sabian biding his time until his contract expires, or does he have something else planned? Well, after spending months sitting ringside with a box over his head, it looks like the hourglass on the side of his make-shift hood is about to run out, and the Norfolk native is readying his return against the “British Bastard” currently holding AEW's All-Atlantic Championship.

Is Kip Sabian readying his return to an AEW ring?

Normally, when a performer is written off of television, they, you know, stop showing up on television. Though far from ideal for a wrestler who wants their career to be an upbroken ascending line towards a world championship, in reality, some performers will inevitably see their push fall off, see their television time dry up, and ultimately see their contracts either terminated or not renewed when its conditions come due.

For a lesser performer, what happened to Kip Sabian at the end of April in 2021 would have been the end of their time in a promotion. Sure, Miro's attack wasn't quite on par with, say, Rosemary killing off Luchasaurus and Allie in Impact, but it was pretty close and left little room for the charismatic cruiserweight to return to an AEW ring without having to first face off against “God's Favorite Champion.” But Kip got clever with it, and after a few months away, he started to appear on AEW television once more, not in the ring, backstage, or even on commentary, but sitting in the crowd with a Shia LaBeouf-style box over his head reading “Underrated, Over it” on the front and an hourglass with falling sand on the side.

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The blacked-out silhouette of CJ Perry with a text bubble reading “They have Superstars, we have wrestlers” with the AEW logo on her left and the WWE logo on her right.

Matty Breisch ·

Bobby Lashley with red boxing gloves on his hands in a boxing ring.

Matty Breisch ·

CJ Perry next to the blacked-out silhouette of Paul Heyman with the AEW logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Sabian began appearing at AEW live events, giving impromptu meet and greets for fans in the know, and began to bide his time right out in the open for his next big opportunity. He was there for Dynamites, there for CM Punk's return, there for Pay-Per-Views, Dark tapings down in Orlando, and even there in his home country of England, where he watched on, and poked some silent movie-esque fun at AEW's All-Atlantic Champion PAC while he defended his title against the likes of Shota “Shooter” Umino, LJ Cleary, and Connor Mills, the last of which was the main event of the first AEW Dark episode of August. PAC jaw-jacked with his fellow Tony Khan-contracted wrestler, Sabian mocked taking off his box, and though Taz wasn't sure who was under the disguise – Taz is a treasure on commentary – Exchaliber hinted heavily that a feud between the two English dudes could soon be gracing international television sets when the two men return to the good old US of A to wrestle in an AEW ring once more.

If that happens, it'll be a return well over a year in the making and an incredible example of subtle long-term storytelling.