Backstage News On Colt Cabana's AEW Appearance And ROH Status

Colt Cabana made his return to AEW programming on last night's "AEW Dynamite," answering Chris Jericho's open challenge for the Ring of Honor World Championship. It was Cabana's first televised AEW match since the November 24th, 2021, episode of "Dynamite when he took on Bryan Danielson in a losing effort during Danielson's feud with "Hangman" Adam Page.

According to PWInsider, Cabana's match against Jericho does not signify a permanent return to AEW TV, as the match is being looked as a one-off "Dynamite" appearance. Cabana is reportedly still signed to ROH, which was sold to AEW CEO Tony Khan in January 2022. A few months later, it was reported that Cabana, who had recently signed a new AEW deal, was being transitioned to the ROH side of things, and that doesn't appear to be changing. PWI was told that Cabana's appearance was simply a result of the ongoing storyline of Jericho to defeating former Ring of Honor champions — Cabana is a two time former ROH Tag Team Champion alongside former AEW World Champion CM Punk.

PWI's report was noncommittal about whether the match was booked specifically to irk Punk, whose friendship with Cabana has fallen apart completely over the last several years, and who is rumored to be on his way out of the company after his blunt comments following AEW's All Out pay-per-view back in September resulted in a backstage brawl. The primary target of Punk's ire was Cabana, as well as the longstanding rumors that Cabana's move to ROH and general absence from AEW television since November 2021 was a result of Punk's arrival in AEW. As a result, it's easy to see why Cabana's sudden return to "Dynamite" could be taken as a shot against Punk, though according to PWI, "no one's ever going to admit that."