AEW News & Rumor Roundup: Massive return after 22 months confirmed, Heartbreaking update on Taz, Latest on Ricky Starks

Welcome to another edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's AEW News and Rumor Roundup. Today we're going to be taking a look at stories involving Ricky Starks, Toni Storm, Bobby Lashley, and more.

We also have a heartbreaking update on Taz's condition after returning to AEW Dynamite recently. A popular star is also set to return to the company after 22 months of absence. So without waiting any further, let's dive into all of these stories.

#5) Popular AEW star is set to return after 22 months of absence

Popular female star, Tay Melo has been absent from AEW ever since she announced her pregnancy in 2023. She and her partner Sammy Guevara welcomed their first child on November 28, 2023.

She has since started training to get back in the ring once again and is now finally set to return to in-ring competition. It was announced that Tay Melo will be competing in STARDOM's New Year Dream event on January 3.

She is set to team up with Mina Shirakawa to face Thekla and current ROH Women's World Champion, Athena in a tag team match. This match will mark her first appearance in the ring since March 11, 2023.

#4) Heartbreaking update on Taz after a sudden appearance on AEW Dynamite

Recently, Taz made a huge return to AEW on the December 25, episode of Dynamite on 34th Street at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NY. The ECW legend kicked off the show with his iconic voice behind the commentary desk.

Now a saddening update from Bryan Alvarez on the Wrestling Observer Radio has provided confirmation of whether Taz will be a permanent fixture on commentary or not. Alvarez stated that the veteran only appeared on that episode of Dynamite because the Hammerstein Arena was close to his house.

He also mentioned that the veteran cannot travel at this moment, due to his recent knee surgery.

#3) Major update on Ricky Starks' future amid AEW absence

Ricky Starks has been absent from Tony Khan's promotion since March of this year; his last appearance was on an episode of Collision. Since then, a lot of controversy has occurred surrounding him, with rumors coming up of the former AEW tag team champion joining WWE after his contract expires.

Starks has since been appearing on independent wrestling promotions and was also pulled from appearing on GCW after some controversy. A recent report from Fightful Select has now shed some light on this situation regarding Ricky Starks and the AEW management.

The report mentioned that The Absolute star had to ask for approval for his GCW appearance. Furthermore, the company didn't approve of Starks appearing in a Chris Van Vliet interview even though nothing negative was said. As of now, he is allowed to work the indies except GCW as of now.

#2) Bobby Lashley provided an update on his MMA future

Bobby Lashley made a huge splash after recently debuting in All Elite Wrestling a few months ago. The former WWE Champion is still in peak physical shape and is a pure athlete in its truest sense.

After making a name for himself in the professional wrestling industry in his first run with WWE, Lashley would give Mixed Martial Arts a try. The All Mighty would fight at various MMA promotions such as Strikeforce, Titan Fighting, and Bellator and maintain an impressive 15-2 record in the sport.

He would then put his prospering MMA career on hold to return to the Stamford-based promotion. He recently did an interview with Fightful and mentioned that he still has a few fights left in him in MMA and indicated that a return to the cage may be on the cards.

"Everything's on the table man. You know when you can't do it anymore, you're going to look back and say I wish I had. So, I don't want to be that person. I do think I have at least one or two more fights left in me and I'd like to be able to do them," he said. [4:50 - 5:05]

#1) Toni Storm made a blockbuster debut outside of AEW

Toni Storm has been keeping active in the ring ever since her shocking return to All Elite Wrestling. She has now made a blockbuster debut in Ring of Honor.

The former AEW Women's World Champion has reverted from her Timeless persona back to the Rockstar character after seemingly having amnesia. She now claims to be making a debut in ROH as a rookie after she recently fought on Collision and Rampage.

Storm wrestled her first-ever match in ROH on its Boxing Day Brawl show against popular female star, Rebecca Scott. She would go on to win her debut match for the promotion and also greeted the fans in a rookie-like fashion.