After a month away, Wardlow returned to AEW television with one thing and one thing only on his mind: revenge.

After having his TNT Championship taken without being pinned in a “Triple Threat” match at Full Gear that also featured Powerhouse Hobbs, Wardlow was bested once more by the “Samoan Submission Machine” at New Year's Smash and had his ponytail cut off as a trophy at the end of the contest in order to remember not to take shots at the “King of Television.”

At the time, this didn't seem like a big deal, as Wardlow didn't seem to have any huge connection to his hair, but in an interview with Jim Ross, fans found out that things couldn't have been further from the truth.

Wardlow opens up about what motivates him in the ring.

Speaking with the long-time voice of wrestling, Wardlow was asked whether he shared any personal information with his former tag team partner during their shared time together in WarJoe, a suggestion Joe made on AEW television, and as it turns out, he had, very personal information, in fact.

“Joe and I did share some personal stories with our time together, and the part of the story I wanted to share today is from the time I can remember to the time I was eight years old, that man instilled every ounce of athleticism and drive that I have in me today,” Wardlow said. “Unfortunately, from the time I was eight until the time I was a young adult, he was not in my life. But as a young adult, he reentered my life, and we were finally able to have some sort of a father-son relationship.

“As soon as that happened, I got a call from him saying he had stage four cancer and didn’t have a lot of time left. Unfortunately, the next time I would see him, he would be in a hospital bed on hospice. I had just started my wrestling journey, and he did make it to my first indie show. So he did get to see me wrestle, and he was so proud of me, and that’s all I could think of to tell him to give him any peace was, ‘I promise you I will be a better man, I will do right, and I’m gonna make it,’ and that was the last thing I ever said to him. I got a phone call the next day that he had passed, and after he had passed, I had never grown my beard, I had never grown my hair, but after seeing cancer take that all from him, I decided I was going to grow my beard out, I was going to grow my hair out, and that’s the look we’ve come to know in AEW, and Joe knew that and Joe took that from me. The connection to my father, you took that from me. Now look me in the eyes because this is the last thing you’re gonna see as the man you are today. Even though you’ve survived every company, every monster this business has to offer, Joe, you will not survive me.”

Welp, there you go, folks; Wardlow just became an even bigger babyface than he was before, and Joe will have to be on notice at Revolution, as the duo have a match booked on the San Francisco-based Pay-Per-View.