Tony Khan Discusses How He Wanted To Handle Rush's AEW Return

The AEW roster is stacked with some of the world's best performers, and one of those stars recently made their return in the form of former ROH World Champion Rush. The Mexican star had been absent from the company since the conclusion of the Continental Classic tournament at the end of 2023, revealing that he had torn his hamstring during his match with Mark Briscoe. Rush has since made a return to action in various promotions around Mexico, and made his AEW comeback on the April 27 "AEW Collision" with a convincing win over former WWE star Martin Stone.

Despite his popularity among AEW fans, Rush wasn't advertised for the show, which confused some fans, as it could have been built up to be a big return. However, during a recent interview with YoJoshMartinez, AEW President Tony Khan revealed that he wanted to keep Rush's return a secret. "Rush I wanted to bring back as a surprise for the fans in Jacksonville," Khan said. "We had done some cool things on Wednesday, some fun surprises in terms of that Casino Gauntlet match, and some really cool unexpected match-ups that nobody saw coming."

Khan also revealed that Rey Fenix's return to action was decided on the day of "Collision," as the former International Champion was only cleared to compete a few hours before the show. Both Fenix and Rush have been two of AEW's most prolific luchadores, with Rush explaining the importance of his family's legacy in Mexico on the May 1 "AEW Rampage," claiming that since he's now back in AEW, people around the world need to start putting respect on his, and his family's name.

Please credit YoJoshMartinez when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.