It’s now been nearly six years since the COVID-19 pandemic put the world on lockdown for over a year, with the notable exception of pro wrestling. Throughout the pandemic, both AEW and WWE continued to run shows in the United States, with AEW basing themselves out of Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida while WWE rotated between their Performance Center and three separate locations used for the WWE ThunderDome.

While AEW eventually let in limited numbers of fans socially distanced from each other, WWE elected to go with virtual attendance for the ThunderDome shows, appearing onscreen via videoconferencing methods, creating one of the more unique viewing experiences in WWE history. Alas, it was an experience that remains polarizing for many who lived it, with some like Bryan Danielson and Sami Zayn loving it, and some hating it, including soon to be WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles.

On “Phenomenally Retro,” Styles was discussing the importance of wrestlers feeding off the fans to produce a great match when his co-host Tony Giles pondered what would happen if you removed fans entirely. This led to Styles pointing out that was exactly the case during the ThunderDome/COVID era of WWE, and Styles didn’t mince words when describing how unsatisfying that era was for him.

“It was absolutely terrible,” Styles said. “I’ll say this. Fans of pro wrestling, you have no idea how much it hurts when you’re not there, because the energy and the excitement that we get from you is everything. If we don’t have you, it’s just not good to us either. It hurts. I can’t explain why it hurts more than it does when you guys aren’t there. But it does. It’s tough. The COVID era was one of the hardest things, I think, that we had to go through.”

If you use any quotes in this article, please credit “The Phenomenally Retro Podcast” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

AEW star Wardlow is ready spar, snarl, and bite his way through his rivals in the 2026 reboot of “American Gladiators.” Under the name “Fang,” the former three-time TNT Champion shared a video on X [formerly known as Twitter] of himself and his competitors ahead of the April 17 premiere with the caption: “Wardlow is officially FANG! [wolf emoji] One of the new #AmericanGladiators which debuts April 17th on @primevideo Very excited for this, I grew up watching this show so little me is very proud to say, I am an American Gladiator! Pretty wild. Hope y’all are ready!”

Wardlow is officially FANG! 🐺 One of the new #AmericanGladiators which debuts April 17th on @primevideo Very excited for this, I grew up watching this show so little me is very proud to say, I am an American Gladiator! Pretty wild. Hope y’all are ready! pic.twitter.com/hn3Usog6ev

— Wardlow (@RealWardlow) March 26, 2026

Wardlow isn’t the only pro wrestler that will be howling his way towards the grand prize. Former NWA World Women’s Champion and AEW colleague of Wardlow’s, Kamille (Kailey Latimer), will compete under the name “Hurricane.” Outside of AEW, will be former two-time WWE 24/7 Champion Eric “Rick Boogs” Bugenhagen under the name “The Bull,” former two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Jessie “Mr. “Pectacular” Godderz competing as “Steel,” and former OVW Women’s Champion Jessica “J-Rod” Roden as “Supernova.” And of course, you can’t forget “The A-Lister” The Miz, who will be hosting the festivities.

Known for being “Mr. Mayhem” and one of Don Callis’ adopted sons in AEW, the former champion has been out of in-ring action since last summer after tearing his pectoral muscle immediately after coming back from another year long injury. He has not competed since March 2024, when he tried his luck against Samoa Joe for his then AEW World Championship. He was, however, backstage at Revolution earlier this month visiting. At this time, there have been no reports on whether he is cleared to compete just yet.

Former Olympic boxer-turned-pro wrestler Anthony Ogogo made his debut in AEW relatively early in the promotion’s life, facing off against Cody Rhodes in a controversial Double Or Nothing 2021 bout. For various reasons, Ogogo has appeared infrequently on AEW TV after that, though he’s seen more regularly in Ring of Honor. According to QT Marshall, Ogogo has continued working to improve through that entire stretch. 

“Anthony, like a lot of people in wrestling – if they’re not on TV every week, they wonder what they could do better,” Marshall said on the “What Happened When” podcast. “It’s not for a lack of trying, let’s put it that way. … Real nice guy. I think it’s very hard for someone like him because he’s used to boxing, and … if you win, you win.”

Marshall was involved in Ogogo’s feud with Rhodes, with Marshall requesting to work with Ogogo as tag team partners in order to see how he looked in the ring. Looking back on that time period, Marshall recalled giving Tony Khan a warning regarding the storyline.

“I just remember telling him … it’s a huge spot for someone pretty new,” he said. Marshall clarified that he wasn’t trying to worm his way into Ogogo’s spot on the card, but was instead concerned about his growth as a wrestler. “I just think he got a little bit too much, too early maybe. It’s hard to go backwards once you’re there. But he hasn’t given up. He’s trying the best he can.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “What Happened When?” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.