Keith Lee may have already wrestled his last match.
There’s no definitive word on his status, but the industry believes the 41-year-old is done. Lee remains under an AEW contract, yet hasn’t competed since December 2023, when an injury sidelined him. He said in the summer of 2025 that his health had been fine for a while.
Bryan Alvarez addressed the situation on Wrestling Observer Live, stressing he’s passing along what he’s heard rather than anything confirmed.
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]? 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.
Alvarez went further, saying the expectation isn’t that Lee simply leaves AEW for another promotion.
It is believed that he is likely just retired.
Lee has been quiet publicly. He hasn’t posted on social media since September 2025, the same month he tweeted that he would “certainly” return to the ring without knowing how or when.
Fightful Select reported in June that AEW had internally discussed a Lee return several months earlier. But he hasn’t been backstage at shows, it’s unclear whether he was even told about the idea, and nothing has come of it.
A former AEW World Tag Team Champion alongside Swerve Strickland, Lee also held the NXT Championship and the PWG World Championship before arriving in AEW.
