Why The Blade Has Been Off AEW TV Revealed

AEW star The Blade hasn't wrestled for the promotion since a six-man tag loss on the January 5 edition of Rampage (taped January 3) and hasn't wrestled at all since competing for Ethan Page's Alpha-1 promotion on February 2. 

Addressing his months-long absence in a post Instagram, the 43-year-old revealed that he has been dealing with a lower back injury, writing:

"Hello Instagram. My apologies, it's been awhile. I'm currently off the road nursing a lower back injury. 2 bulging discs, L2 L3 and L4 L5. Plus two ruptured discs, L3 L4 and L5 S1. I'd like to thank @aew and @tonyrkhan for giving me this time off to heal. Plus, I've got the Buffalo, NY magic man pictured with me here, @anthony.albano.dpt. Time off can be a rough place for athletes mentally. Anthony's physical therapy is helping me stay on track and I can't sing praises high enough about the sweet science behind his training. I'm not sure where this journey I'm on is gonna lead. But, I have a lot of options and a great team around me and that's a beautiful thing. Love ya everybody."

The Blade signed with AEW in November 2019. His tag team partner The Butcher has been competing in singles matches in his absence.