AEW has built itself as an alternative to industry giant WWE, and, as such, the young company usually puts an emphasis on wrestling quality and traditional booking. However, it sometimes ventures into the murky realms of sports entertainment and more cinematic forms of storytelling.
Such was the case on the most recent episode of Collision, which featured a mysterious vignette. The 13-second video featured a console command, "holo.grm," followed by a man leaping through a portal and a brief glimpse of a ninja-like character.
Fans were immediately intrigued by the vignette, as All Elite Wrestling isn't known for producing such cryptic videos. It's been pointed out that the company recently filed to trademark "hologram" for digital media purposes, which is likely related to the vignette that aired on Saturday Night Collision.
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A fan on X (formerly Twitter) speculated on what it could mean and suggested that it might not refer to an upcoming debut or gimmick but instead could be a tease for a new type of format related to streaming.
However, Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp revealed today that the vignette is indeed teasing a person rather than a concept as you can see from his post below:
Who is the masked man teased in the AEW Collision vignette?
The mysterious vignette aired on AEW Collision gave fans a glimpse of a ninja-like figure, and speculation about who it could be has been rampant on social media.
Many believe that it has to be Ricochet, who recently departed WWE and is reportedly set to join All Elite Wrestling in the near future. However, some fans are pointing to Sammy Guevara, who has been absent for months but could be nearing a return soon.
Guevara is one of the "Four Pillars" of AEW, but while MJF, Darby Allin, and Jack Perry have carved out their places in the company, The Spanish God has never really managed to connect with the audience. Some fans feel that he's been hamstrung by his longtime attachment to Chris Jericho and the revolving door of factions the latter has been a part of.
It would make sense for AEW to repackage Guevara, and the 30-year-old certainly has the physical skills to pull off a ninja gimmick, but so does Ricochet. Whether the mysterious figure turns out to be either of these men remains to be seen.