"Waiting for his contract to expire," "Retired" - Fans react to Keith Lee's continued absence from AEW

AEW star Keith Lee has been absent from the company for nearly two years. He was injured in December 2023, just before the inaugural Worlds End pay-per-view. He was scheduled to face Swerve Strickland at the event, but the bout was called off due to his undisclosed injury. He even underwent surgery months later, but AEW hasn't provided any information about the star.

The Limitless star recently shared a major update on social media in June. The former AEW World Tag Team Champion stated that he has been cleared to wrestle for quite some time but has yet to receive creative directions from AEW President Tony Khan. This means the 40-year-old star has been cleared for a long time, but hasn't been brought back.

A fan on social media asked about Keith Lee's absence, since he hasn't been featured on TV for 23 months.

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Many fans said that Tony Khan has fumbled the star, while some believed he is retired. A few also said he is waiting for his AEW contract to end.

Take a look at some of the fan reactions below:

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Veteran Teddy Long questions Keith Lee's absence

The former AEW World Tag Team Champion's extended hiatus has raised many eyebrows, especially after his comments about being medically cleared.

While speaking on The Wrestling Time Machine, Teddy Long said it doesn't make sense to sign a guy for five years and pay him to sit at home if Tony Khan doesn't want to use him on TV.

"Well, they should think about that before they even bring the guys in. Yeah, it don't make no sense if you're just going to, I don't see them wasting money. I don't know. But I don't see them paying a guy for five years," Long said.

It remains to be seen when the absent star returns to AEW TV.

Edited by Neda Ali