Grizzled Young Veterans Have Their 'Fingers Crossed' For AEW Return

Grizzled Young Veterans may not be done with All Elite Wrestling. 

After being asked by Metro if they wanted to return to AEW, Zack Gibson noted he and James Drake have their "fingers crossed" before he stated more generally: "I'm not allowed to give too much away. But all I would say is just watch this space, because we got some really cool stuff lined up."

Grizzled Young Veterans debuted in All Elite Wrestling on an April episode of Collision, losing to former AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed. AEW and GYV have reportedly been in ongoing talks about full-time deals but GYV putting pen to paper on any contracts was not considered "a slam dunk." 

Another option for GYV could be a return to WWE, with Gibson also noting to Metro they could reopen talks with their former employers if they wanted to. 

"We never burned any bridges, we can always reopen those talks if we wanted to. And similarly, if we're enjoying ourselves more elsewhere, then we may never need to go back. We're not set on any one particular path. We just wanted to get our stock moving in the right direction again. Since leaving WWE, we made the right decision," Gibson added.

Gibson and Drake exited WWE in October 2023 and they have been free agents ever since. Beyond AEW, GYV have wrestled for the likes of TNA and RevPro. 

Drake and Gibson have also launched their own promotion, Burning Heart Pro Wrestling, and the likes of Rickey Shane Page and George Iceman are also key figures behind the scenes. The promotion will hold their inaugural shows this weekend, beginning in Liverpool on Friday, June 21 before heading to Wolverhampton on Saturday and Swansea on Sunday. Cultaholic's Tom Campbell will be the ring announcer for all three events.