Three top stars returned during Wednesday night’s Dynamite Fyter Fest episode.
Billy Gunn, Santana and Ortiz all made their returns to the company.
Gunn made his return by coming to the ring to make the save as The Acclaimed were getting attacked by House of Black. Gunn then grabbed a mic and told House of Black he was fine with walking away from pro wrestling, until the House of Black took his boots and crushed them in a trash compactor.
The segment closed with The Acclaimed and Gunn challenging the House Of Black to a match at AEW All In. Gunn said he won’t be making the trip to to All In, but “Bad A–” Billy Gunn will.
Santana & Ortiz made their return to AEW After the end of the match between Jon Moxley and Rey Fenix. Ortiz showed up on the entrance ramp preventing Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo from coming down to the ring to save Fenix from the beat down by Blackpool Combat Club. It was then Santana returned aiding Ortiz in the brutal attack on Fenix. The BCC along with Santana & Ortiz took off through the crowd as Fenix was being stretched out and taken away by an ambulance.
During Tuesday’s All In London media call, Tony Khan mentioned a change for the card. Khan would not elaborate, as it would likely involve a storyline. According to F4WOnline, multiple sources reported on Tuesday, that Fenix is trying to establish residency in the United States and it is for this reason he has not left the country and would not be traveling to London for All In.
Santana has been out of action for over a year. He torn his ACL during last year’s Blood & Guts Match. This was the first appearance for Ortiz in AEW in over five months. He last competed at the Revolution pay-per-view this past March.
Santana took to social media to comment on his return and to say thank you.
“To say that I knew what the road ahead of me was going to be like when I got hurt, would be totally false. The struggles and battles I’ve overcome to get back to what I love and have dedicated my life to is unimaginable. But the most important thing was that it taught me so much about myself and made me a 10x better person than who I was. I’m thankful that everything from the last 3 and half years happened the way they did. It needed to. Everything from losing my father, to unhappiness at work, to personal struggles, and everything in between. I’m thankful for all those things. They forced me to face me. To look in the mirror and learn to love/appreciate the person looking back. My story will be told eventually. I just want to enjoy this moment that I’ve worked so damn hard to get to. Thanks to EVERYONE who ever reached out. Every message from the fans. All the support from my family. Those who were there during my darkest days. I’II forever be grateful for all of you. NOW LETS GET TO WORK!”