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Welcome, readers, to the latest edition of the AEW News Roundup. Once again, we will be looking at the latest stories and notable developments about the Tony Khan-led company and its employees, current and former, including Adam Cole, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, and more.An All Elite Wrestling star who is still on a long-running hiatus has dropped a huge social media reference to The Best in the World. One of Adam Cole's longtime allies has shared a potentially disappointing update on his status and pro wrestling future. Chris Jericho recently reunited with his former "best friend" from WWE amid rumors of his return to the sports entertainment juggernaut.Furthermore, Tony Khan has discussed needing to make some major changes to a long-anticipated women's match scheduled for next month. Let us take a closer look at these stories one after another.#1. AEW's Chris Jericho spotted with a top WWE nameChris Jericho's name has generated a lot of headlines in the past few months after rumors started making the rounds that the inaugural AEW World Champion's All Elite Wrestling contract will expire soon, after which the veteran is likely going to return to WWE. Reports have indicated that the Stamford-based company has an interest in bringing Y2J back to its fold. Although speculations continue to abound, Jericho clarified during a recent interview that he was still working for the Jacksonville-based promotion.Conjecture surrounding The Learning Tree's potential WWE comeback received a shot in the arm recently after Jericho was spotted with Kevin Owens. The duo was in attendance at an NHL game in Tampa, Florida, around a day ago. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostJericho and The Prizefighter were briefly aligned during their shared tenure in WWE. Their "friendship" came to an end after Owens betrayed and brutalized The Ayatollah Of Rock 'N' Rollah for accepting a Universal Championship match with Goldberg on his behalf. This led to KO and Jericho feuding over the latter's United States Title, a rivalry that included a championship match at WrestleMania 33.#2. Kyle O'Reilly's update on Adam Cole's pro wrestling futureAhead of Adam Cole's scheduled TNT Title defense against Kyle Fletcher at All In: Texas, it was revealed that the former NXT Champion would have to forfeit the bout and vacate the gold due to his health issues. Cole even made an appearance at the Texas pay-per-view itself to relinquish his championship and announce his hiatus with a tearful promo, after which he was joined in the ring by his longtime friends and stablemates, Roderick Strong and Kyle O'Reilly. The duo accompanied the veteran to the back.The Messiah of the Backbreaker and The Violent Artist have vowed to carry on Cole's legacy in AEW. On a recent edition of the Unrestricted podcast, O'Reilly reflected on The Panama City Playboy stepping away from active competition indefinitely. The former WWE star also alluded to The Paragon's trios bout against The Don Callis Family on the July 10 episode of Collision, referring to it as Cole's last match for the time being.Various AEW personalities' reactions to Adam Cole's All In: Texas announcement [Image Credits: All Elite Wrestling on X]It remains to be seen if Adam Cole will ever return to in-ring action.#3. CM Punk referenced by AEW's DanhausenCM Punk's All Elite Wrestling run began with a bang when he debuted in the company in 2021. However, it ended in less-than-ideal fashion, as The Voice of the Voiceless was fired by the promotion over his backstage brawl with Jack Perry at All In: London 2023. The incident took place not very long after Punk had found himself embroiled in a behind-the-scenes skirmish with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. Although the former AEW World Champion returned to WWE soon after in 2023, he has maintained close friendships with multiple names from All Elite Wrestling, the most notable instance being his relationship with Danhausen. The "Very Nice, Very Evil" star is well-known for his witty in-person and online interactions with The Straight Edge Superstar. On the occasion of Halloween, he took to his X/Twitter profile to share photographs of both Punk and Brody King sporting his signature face paint.Screenshot of Danhausen's tweet with a picture of CM Punk [Image credits: Danhausen's X profile]Danhausen has been missing from AEW programming for well over a year now. He was last seen wrestling for the company during Zero Hour of Worlds End 2023.#4. Tony Khan to replace a popular star in an upcoming first-time-ever boutThis past Wednesday on Fright Night Dynamite, Penelope Ford revealed that she had sustained a torn UCL, likely during the four-way tag team bout featuring her and her partner, Megan Bayne, a week earlier. The injury will cause The Superbad Girl to miss out on the ongoing tournament to crown the inaugural AEW Women's World Tag Team Champions, after being poised to take on TayJay alongside The Megasus in the first round.Bayne will proceed in the tournament with her new partner, Marina Shafir of The Death Riders. Meanwhile, Ford is also going to be missing out on participating in the first-ever Women's Blood and Guts match due to her injury, as confirmed by Tony Khan on his recent X/Twitter live. The AEW CEO revealed that he would soon be making announcements for the vicious double steel cage match, the challenge for which was issued by Jamie Hayter to the Triangle of Madness last month. Although the bout's participants have not yet been officially listed, Khan alluded to Thekla's clique with The Sisters of Sin, and also the trio's association with Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford as likely players for the matchup.Penelope Ford announcing her injury on Fright Night Dynamite [Source: AEW on X/Twitter]It remains to be seen who will step up in Penelope Ford's place inside Blood and Guts next month.
