Wardlow Reveals Injury He Wrestled With During AEW Blood & Guts

In one of AEW's first shows back with a full capacity environment, Wardlow took part in AEW's first ever Blood & Guts Match in 2021. In the violent match, Wardlow teamed up with Pinnacle stablemates Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Shawn Spears, and his former storyline employer MJF, to take on the Inner Circle, a Jericho-led group with members Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, and Ortiz. Wardlow opened up about an injury that he went into the match with that the AEW medical team was not made aware of ahead of time.

"I am wrestling year-round with injuries," TNT Champion Wardlow said while on "Athletes and the Arts." "I got in trouble with Doc, actually, one time because I didn't tell anybody about a torn calf that blew doing sprints because I was getting prepared for Blood & Guts and I wasn't going to miss that match for nothing. So, I hid it and I wrestled with a completely torn calf."

Following a bloody encounter between the two teams, The Pinnacle walked away with the win after the Inner Circle surrendered after MJF threatened to throw Jericho off the structure onto the stage below. The Inner Circle's efforts weren't sufficient, however, as Jericho was still thrown off the top of the cage onto the stage. Following the match, Wardlow took a few weeks off of wrestling, possibly due to the injury. He wrestled his first match after Blood and Guts 25 days later, when he took part in the second-ever Stadium Stampede at Double or Nothing 2021. The Inner Circle got their win back and ended off the PPV on top.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Athletes and the Arts" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.