AEW News & Rumor Roundup: Absent star gets diagnosed with cancer, Chris Jericho makes a big move, Ric Flair health update

Welcome to the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's AEW News & Rumor Roundup. Today, we are looking at news involving top pro-wrestling stars, including Ric Flair and Chris Jericho, among others.

An absent AEW star shared an emotional update revealing they have cancer. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho offers a bold opinion, and there's a new health update on the legendary Ric Flair. We have many good stories coming out of the All Elite Wrestling universe today, so let's get started.

#4. Chris Jericho says Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boys at TNA Bound for Glory was a 5-star match

Chris Jericho recently offered high praise to a match that took place outside AEW. The bout in question was the final showdown between the Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boys at TNA Bound for Glory. Both teams are widely regarded as two of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history. Their latest showdown, however, occurred late in their careers, resulting in a performance that was more emotionally driven than technically intense.

Y2J discussed the contest on his Talk is Jericho podcast during a conversation with Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Bubba Ray Dudley, and D-Von Dudley, and said it was a five-star match.

"You [Bully] said it was a five-star match, and it was, you know, it was a five-star match, and any wrestling fan that doesn't understand why it's a five-star match doesn't really know a lot about wrestling because once again, we've been stressing this the whole time — it's all about the emotion. That's what wrestling has always been, and it always will be. Yeah. Absolutely. Five stars. No doubt about it. No doubt about it at all," said Jericho. [H/T WrestlingInc.]

#3. Rebel reveals cancer diagnosis in an emotional health update

Absent AEW star Rebel shared a deeply emotional health update with fans through Instagram, detailing a series of medical challenges she has faced over the past year. Rebel was a prominent on-screen figure in AEW’s early years, especially during Britt Baker’s run as AEW Women’s World Champion, where she played a key supporting role. Her update revealed that she was hospitalized in May 2024 with what was believed to be cryptococcal pneumonia, a condition involving mass-like formations in the lungs. Despite undergoing treatment with antifungals for a year, her condition did not improve and was instead accompanied by more complications.

Rebel explained that infections, ruptures, and tumors eventually led her to seek further evaluation at the Mayo Clinic. There, specialists determined that she had been misdiagnosed and was actually dealing with primary pulmonary lymphoma, a form of lung cancer.

"After a year of not getting better, I decided to go to the Mayo Clinic to see if I could get treated by them. They found that it was not cryptococcal pneumonia this whole time and that it is primary pulmonary lymphoma, which is cancer in the lungs. If there is a best-case scenario, then I have it, so that's good. That's what I recently found out, and I wanted to let you guys know."

Rebel added that she is scheduled to begin an intensive, full-time therapy program for FND, running Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and that this treatment must be completed before she can begin addressing her cancer directly. She asked fans for continued love and prayers as she navigates this stage of her health journey.

#2. Ric Flair set for MRI evaluations after missing AEW Blood and Guts 2025

More information has emerged regarding Ric Flair’s absence from AEW Blood and Guts 2025. The WWE Hall of Famer had been advertised alongside Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat for the event, but did not appear, raising concern among fans. Steamboat, who did take part in the show, later confirmed that Flair was dealing with health-related issues at the time of the broadcast.

Steamboat revealed the details during his appearance on Apter Chat, explaining that Flair had been scheduled for a medical appointment immediately following the event in Greensboro. According to Steamboat, Flair was undergoing MRI evaluations for a torn rotator cuff.

"Yeah, I know that when he was leaving Greensboro the next day, he had an appointment set, something set up to where some MRIs were looking at his rotator cuff." [11:11-11:23]

#1. D-Von Dudley doesn't want his sons to join AEW

D-Von Dudley recently spoke candidly about his views on All Elite Wrestling and the career paths of his sons, Terrell and Terrence Hughes, a.k.a. The Hughes Brothers. The duo previously competed on AEW Dark from 2020 to 2022 but never signed full-time deals with the promotion. The WWE Hall of Famer revealed that he had attempted to join Tony Khan's promotion in a backstage producer role, but Khan instead pushed for him to join as an in-ring talent. The disagreement contributed to a negative experience for D-Von, potentially influencing his stance regarding the Jacksonville-based promotion as a destination for his sons.

During his appearance on Duke LovesRasslin, D-Von stated that he did not want his sons to join AEW.

"I didn’t want them to go to AEW in the first place because I thought they were going to be lost in the shuffle."

On the other hand, D-Von expressed trust in the developmental system under WWE’s leadership, citing industry veterans Shawn Michaels, Matt Bloom, Terry Taylor, and Fit Finley as individuals he believes would steer his sons toward long-term success.