Ortiz is still under contract with AEW.
The AEW star hasn’t had a match in the company since January 2024. Ortiz suffered a torn pectoral muscle during his match against Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli, which put him on the sidelines for a good portion of 2024.
However, the former Inner Circle member has been cleared to compete for months. In fact, Ortiz has been wrestling since March 2025. Despite him fighting hard on the indie scene, there’s just no signs of him making an AEW return soon. With him almost being off television for nearly two years, does his contract come up soon?
Ortiz spoke to Wombreezy, Ortiz and revealed that he was year left on his contract.
“As of right now, I have about a year left with the company. Give or take on this current contract. I would love to stay there. I love working at AEW. I’ve been coaching and doing producing, which is learning a different skill and will give you longevity. It’s also making me be a better wrestler because I’m helping people call matches and I’m analyzing it from a different lens. I’m really enjoying that. It’s something I wanted to do anyway, and now I’m getting the opportunity to do it there. Even if I stay on purely to do coaching and producing, and I can still wrestle, I’m happy. If they keep me, I would stay,” he said.
A year is still a long time to go. It does seem ridiculous for Tony Khan to keep him under contract for the entire time, so it’s quite possible that Ortiz will make his return. The AEW star does feel that he’ll pop up on television soon, so he continues competing on the indie circuit to keep him fresh.
“I think eventually I’ll be back on AEW television. That’s out of my control at the moment. I’m still able to stay fresh and do independents. Keep doing as much independents as possible. Go over to England, Mexico, Canada, and maybe go to Japan and do it for a week if I can work that out. Just become a better wrestler and performer, and get back on television. Put into action all the work I’ve been doing and change people’s perceptions.”
Check out the full interview where he talks about Santana winning the TNA World Championship, working with AEW, his injury, and so much more!