The AEW roster is stacked right now.

With more than 100 wrestlers under contract right now, plus plenty more like Bear Country who perform in the company regularly but aren't listed on the official roster page, Tony Khan could conceivably roll with his current roster for the foreseeable future without changing a thing and continue to field intriguing storylines for years to come.

And yet, whenever a performer is released, usually from WWE but from other companies too, it draws intrigue, rumors, and, more often than not, fake “Is All Elite” graphics like this one made for a story about Cheeseburger. It happened with Bray Wyatt, again with Johnny Gargano, and will happen again for the foreseeable future, as talent will continue to jump from promotion to promotion for the rest of wrestling history.

But, curiously enough, one free agent performer who hasn't drawn serious speculation, at least externally, from AEW is none other than Bandido, “The Most Wanted Man in Mexico.” Since losing the Ring of Honor Heavyweight Championship of the World in April, at the first ROH show booked by Khan, Bandido has been oddly underbooked, with only freelance indie dates at promotions like PWG, GCW, West Coast Pro, Prestige, and MLW.

Is Bandido still on AEW's radar following his ROH release?

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Bandido was widely considered one of the hottest free agents in the wrestling world. After officially taking up the moniker back in 2016 following runs as Magnífico II and Cielito, Bandido took the Lucha Libre world by storm with his high-flying, hard-hitting style and a $1 million gimmick, performing for Lucha Libre Elite, WWA, Lucha Libre AAA, plus American promotions like PWG before recording his biggest show to that point, a spot on All In, the inaugural show by the company that would become All Elite Wrestling, where he performed in a main event trios match with Rey Fenix and Rey Mysterio versus The Golden Elite trio of the Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi.

The match, predictably, was an absolute showstopper and featured Bandido, in his first American Pay-Per-View appearance, earning much of the praise in a match that also featured The Jacksons, the more athletic half of the Lucha Brothers, and Mysterio in a Wolverine costume.

Goodness, that match is never not a good time.

This match drew the attention of Ring of Honor, All Elite Wrestling, and even WWE and really did make Bandido “The Most Wanted Man” not only in Mexico but in the independent wrestling world. After weighing his options, Bandido opted to make ROH his full-time home stateside and signed a long-term deal to become one of the top stars in the Cary Silkin-founded promotion.

For a time, that seemed like a good decision indeed.

Initially making his debut at the promotion as a contracted performer as a part of Lifeblood with David Finley, Juice Robinson, and Tracy Williams in a bout versus Dalton Castle, Flip Gordon, Jay Lethal, Jeff Cobb, and Jonathan Gresham, Bandido won his first eight matches in a row before suffering his first official loss in ROH to Rush at the ROH 17th Anniversary Show held at Sam's Town in Las Vegas – marking the first ROH singles bout between a pair of performers who would go on to have one of the defining feuds of the original Ring of Honor run.

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Within a year, Bandido and his MexiSquad teammates Flamita and Rey Horus were the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions, and when the team dissolved following a loss to Shane Taylor Promotions, the bandana-clad man turned his attention to singles action once more and officially won the ROH World Title on July 11th, 2021 in an incredible win over his long-time foe Rush. Bandido successfully defended the title five wins – in addition to securing the PWG championship over Black Taurus in the process – and likely would have continued on as the face of ROH if the promotion didn't announce its intentions to cease operations at the end of the year.

Surly, the independent wrestling world was Bandido's oyster, and his chances of securing a new home appeared easy enough… only that wasn't what happened. After a bout with COVID kept Bandido away from Final Battle, a new, interim title was christened, and Jonathan Gresham became the final title winner in the old era of ROH. Bandido then lost both of his titles, to Gresham at Supercard of Honor in April and to Daniel Garcia at PWG's Delivering The Goods on the first day of May. Since the ROH loss, Bandido has largely worked in Mexico, no-showed a GCW event under curious circumstances – though he has worked for the promotion since – and has a title bout versus Alex Hammerstone on the books at MLW with Cesar Duran in his corner. 

Is Bandido about to shock the world, take down Hammerstone and go on an incredible run in MLW as he rebuilds his stock? Or is this just another mercenary job for “The Most Wanted Man in Mexico” as he goes from one town to the next in search of a long-term home? I guess the wrestling world will find out soon enough.