"Hopefully he can recover from his past," "Missed my demon" - Fans erupt as top star finally returns to AEW after 580 + days on Collision

This weekend's episode of AEW Collision has witnessed the blockbuster comeback of one of the promotion's undisputed fan-favorites. Fans have now taken to social media to react to the return of the star in question, who is none other than Kota Ibushi.

The June 21 edition of the Saturday-night show featured an in-ring interview segment during which Don Callis elaborated on his surprise alliance with Kazuchika Okada, in the wake of the Continental Champion blindsiding and bloodying Kenny Omega during their All In : Texas contract signing earlier this month. The Invisible Hand hinted at The Cleaner's questionable health status, and then taunted the latter over supposedly having lost all his friends.

This prompted Mark Briscoe to interrupt Callis. The Sussex County Chicken, who had called out Okada for brutalizing Omega and unsuccessfully faced the former New Japan ace at Grand Slam Mexico, revealed that he, in fact, was not the only friend Kenny had in the AEW locker-room. This was followed by the shocking return of Kota Ibushi, who took out Callis' "family members" alongside Briscoe, and laid out Okada with a series of strikes himself.

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The Golden Star's unexpected comeback led to fans flocking to X/Twitter to share their reactions. Users expressed their elation at Kenny Omega's long-time ally and tag partner finally returning, with some speculating on a potential Golden Lovers reunion. Others voiced hope that Ibushi had adequately recovered from his recent injuries, and even discussed the prospects of a match with The Rainmaker.

"LETS GOOOOO OKADA VS IBUSHI ON DYNAMITE GIMME THAT," posted a user. "Golden Lovers on the way. Ibushi looks like his old self. LFG!!" - speculated a fan. "MY GOAT HAS RETURNED AND HE LEAN AF WE AINT READY," noted another fan. "At long last!" - tweeted a user.

Ibushi was last seen in action on AEW television back in November of 2023.

Match results for this week's AEW Collision

This weekend's edition of Saturday Night Collision aired from the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. The show featured six bouts overall, including two singles matches and four tag team matches. Check out their outcomes below:

• Jon Moxley defeated AR Fox
• FTR, Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher defeated Bandido, Daniel Garcia, Adam Cole and Roderick Strong [8-person tag match]
• Swerve Strickland defeated Shane Taylor
• Hologram, Willow Nightingale and Mark Briscoe defeated MxM Collection and Taya Valkyrie [Mixed 6-person tag match]
• Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey defeated The Gates of Agony
• Penelope Ford, Megan Bayne, Thekla and Athena defeated Anna Jay, Tay Melo, Queen Aminata and Thunder Rosa [8-person tag match]

AEW will seemingly host Dynamite this coming week at the same venue.

Edited by Anurag Mukherjee