Keith Lee update amid long AEW absence
There’s no definitive word on Keith Lee’s status, but, within the industry, it’s believed that he might have already wrestled his last match.
Lee, 41, remains under contract with AEW but has not wrestled since December 2023. He was forced out of action due to injury at that time but stated in summer 2025 that his health had been good for a while. With news coming out today that Lee and Mia Yim are divorced, Bryan Alvarez spoke about Lee on Wrestling Observer Live and shared the latest that he’s heard. Alvarez said that, while he does not personally know anything about the situation, people in wrestling think Lee is done competing in the ring.
“Everyone has been asking what’s going on with Keith Lee. Is he ever coming back to AEW, and are we ever going to get that match with Swerve [Strickland]? Well, all I can tell you is that, you know, this has been discussed within the business, obviously with this news coming out as well. There’s been a lot of talk about Keith Lee over the last couple of days,” Alvarez said. “I’m not saying this 100 percent, okay? I’m not saying this 100 percent because I don’t know. But, from talking to people, the belief within the business is that Keith Lee is done. And we’re not talking like, you know, when he’s done with AEW, if that ever happens, he’ll go elsewhere — it is believed that he is likely just retired.”
Yim posted that, while she and Lee are no longer a couple, they remain friends and still have love for each other. Lee himself has not posted on social media since September 2025, which is the same month he tweeted that he would “certainly” be making an in-ring return but didn’t know how or when it would happen.
The most recent report on Lee’s status came from Fightful Select, who wrote this June that AEW had discussed a potential Lee return “a number of months ago.” But the report said Lee has not been backstage at AEW shows, and it’s not known if he was even made aware of the idea for his return. At least as of now, nothing has come of it.
Lee is a former AEW Tag Team Champion with Swerve Strickland and held the NXT Championship and PWG World Championship in his pre-AEW career.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.