Matt Sydal Returns To AEW Ring After Nearly Two Years

Matt Sydal stepped back into an AEW ring on the July 25 episode of Collision, marking his first match with the company in almost two years. Teaming with Scorpio Sky and Dante Martin as SkyFlight, Sydal squared off against The Lethal Twist — Jay Lethal, Blake Christian, and Lee Johnson — in a six-man contest that ended with SkyFlight coming up short.

Sydal had rejoined AEW earlier this year after an extended absence, but Saturday’s bout was his long-awaited return to actual in-ring competition under the company’s banner. For a wrestler who built his reputation across TNA, Ring of Honor, and a lengthy prior run in AEW as part of tag teams and singles programs, getting back on live television after such a gap is a notable milestone, even in a midcard trios match.

The pairing with Scorpio Sky and Dante Martin gives Sydal a ready-made high-flying unit, and SkyFlight’s chemistry made sense given all three men’s backgrounds in fast-paced, technically sharp wrestling. On the other side, The Lethal Twist has been used as a reliable trio on Collision, with Jay Lethal’s veteran presence anchoring the younger Blake Christian and Lee Johnson. The win keeps that trio looking credible as a unit worth building around on the B-show, while the loss doesn’t do much damage to Sydal’s return given the circumstances — nobody expects a returning veteran to immediately go on a win streak in a six-man dance.

What matters more here is simply that Sydal is active again. AEW’s roster is deep, and Collision in particular has served as a proving ground and a landing spot for wrestlers looking to rebuild momentum or find a role outside the flagship Dynamite spotlight. Whether Sydal settles into a recurring spot with Sky and Martin, or this ends up being a one-off pairing before he’s slotted elsewhere, remains to be seen. His name still carries recognition among longtime fans of the independent and TNA/ROH scenes he helped define over the past two decades, and AEW has generally found value in featuring wrestlers with that kind of pedigree in trios and tag scenarios even when they’re not chasing championship programs.

For now, the headline is straightforward: Matt Sydal is back in an AEW ring, the loss is a footnote, and the real story going forward is whether SkyFlight becomes a recurring act on Collision or if this was simply a soft landing spot for his in-ring return. Fans will be watching to see what comes next for him on the roster.