Since his unsettling transformation earlier this year, Lio Rush has become a champion in AEW’s sister-promotion, Ring of Honor. Now, The Blackheart has added more gold to his name, capturing a new title at a major independent promotion.
After he returned to action following a brief hiatus at Revolution 2026 earlier this year, Lio Rush seemed like a completely different wrestler, adopting uncanny movements and mannerisms in his matches, spouting cryptic comments during his entrances and interviews, and sporting an entirely new look that was soon identified as the latest iteration of his “Blackheart” persona. Despite fans initially reacting in a polarizing manner, the former WWE superstar’s latest gimmick soon became really popular with AEW’s viewers.
Because of this, Lio has been getting featured prominently on weekly AEW TV, as well as on pay-per-views, over the past several months. Last June at ROH Global Wars: Cincinnati, he captured the ROH World TV Title in a three-way match involving his former CRU teammate Action Andretti and defending champion AR Fox. This Friday at House of Glory High Intensity 2026 in New York City, Rush captured another title, unseating Daron Richardson for the HOG Cruiserweight Championship.
What has AEW’s Lio Rush been up to recently?
The last time he appeared on All Elite Wrestling television, Lio Rush was seen in action on the July 25 edition of Saturday Night Collision. The Blackheart battled the Don Callis Family’s El Clon in a qualifier for the chance to compete in an International Championship #1 contenders’ Ladder Match at Redemption 2026. Unfortunately, the villainous masked luchador successfully defeated Lio in their bout to secure his spot at the pay-per-view.
Just days before Collision, on the July 23 edition of ROH on HonorClub, Rush had successfully defended his ROH World Television Championship against Main Main Oro in the opening bout of the show. This week at Grand Slam Mexico, the 31-year-old avenged his loss to El Clon from last month by defeating the latter one-on-one, albeit in a dark match.
The Blackheart was also at GCW’s 20 Years of Bad Boy PPV last Thursday, where he beat Leedz Lewis in singles competition. It remains to be seen what lies next for Lio Rush in All Elite Wrestling and elsewhere.
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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee
