AEW President Tony Khan took to social media to commemorate AEW’s fifth anniversary.
Khan wrote,
“Happy New Year 2024!
5 years ago today, we launched @AEW 1/1/19!
2023 marked new highs,
our biggest PPV year ever,
world record 81,035 tickets sold #AEWAllIn London,
debuted #AEWCollision + ended the year with a streak of big tv ratings!
Thank you all who made this all possible”
The official announcement of AEW’s launch came at midnight on January 1, 2019, in an episode of Being the Elite.
Happy New Year 2024!
5 years ago today, we launched @AEW 1/1/19!
2023 marked new highs,
our biggest PPV year ever,
world record 81,035 tickets sold #AEWAllIn London,
debuted #AEWCollision + ended the year with a streak of big tv ratings!
Thank you all who made this all possible— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) January 2, 2024
Baron Black missed most of 2023, and he recently revealed that the absence was due to both an illness and an injury.
Black worked just two matches in 2023, and he revealed the reason for his absence on Twitter. He wrote,
“In late December 2022, I sustained an ankle injury during a match, worsening it by wrestling in January 2023. It turned out to be an ankle ligament injury, no surgery required but 3-6 months of healing time
“In June I tried to make a return, but my ankle wasn’t ready, and I also battled terrible food poisoning. I took more time off then tried to resume in-ring training in July, but severe dehydration and fatigue forced me to the ER, with doctors initially finding ‘nothing wrong’
“Over the next three months, severe dehydration persisted, requiring over six ER visits. It wasn’t until my seventh visit in October that a gut bacteria issue, stemming from the earlier food poisoning, was identified. Thankfully, it’s correctable, and I am near the end of the healing process. Appreciate all who reached out and looking forward to returning soon. Happy New Year!”
Black made his AEW debut on the April 29, 2020 episode of Dynamite where he wrestled a match against Shawn Spears. He then went on to make regular appearances on AEW Dark.
Usually keep things to myself, but here's some transparency on where I've been the entire year of 2023 and an update on the future pic.twitter.com/WkGU9uskyi
— Baron Black (@TheEmpBruh) January 2, 2024
