AEW Wrestler Wants To Replace Batista In Batman, AEW Manager Advocates For The Return Of House Shows, Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Paul Wight?

Wardlow has made it known that he’s interested in joining James Gunn’s revamped DC Cinematic Universe — specifically as the iconic Batman villain, Bane.

The AEW star took to Twitter to pitch himself for the role, tagging Gunn. He wrote,

“Hey @JamesGunn if you need a Bane and Dave Bautista is busy, I’m your guy.”

Wardlow hasn’t appeared on AEW television since March 2024. However, fans will soon see him back on screen in a different arena, as he’s set to appear as a Gladiator in the upcoming revival of American Gladiators, hosted by The Miz.

Hey @JamesGunn if you need a Bane and Dave Bautista is busy, I’m your guy pic.twitter.com/D64jz80zHO

— Wardlow (@RealWardlow) June 22, 2025

Powerhouse Hobbs has expressed interest in eventually facing Paul Wight (formerly The Big Show) in a one-on-one match, saying it’s something that “needs to happen.”

Appearing on the “Muscle Memory” podcast, Hobbs shared his thoughts on a potential showdown:

“Oh yeah, it’s gotta happen. I know Paul pretty well — I know he ain’t gonna go out like that. So, you know, I gotta always look front, back, side to side.”

The two previously clashed during the Like a Dragon Street Fight in November 2023, where Hobbs bodyslammed Wight onto a car. Despite the brutal move, Wight’s team ultimately picked up the win.

AEW has moved away from traditional house shows, but during a recent edition of his “Marking Out” podcast, MVP expressed his desire for Tony Khan to hold such live events.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On the value of house shows: “AEW doesn’t do live events, but I wish that they did because that’s an opportunity for the less experienced talent to get reps. There’s nothing like polishing your craft in front of a live audience, and you get to try things. You don’t experiment on live TV, as a matter of fact, one of my mentors a long time ago said, ‘Don’t do the things on TV that you do good. Go and do the things that you do great.’ If you’re on live events and you got something that’s pretty good, you can polish it up and you can get it to the point where, [you say] ‘This is great now.’ And at live events, you’re not locked into a time, the producer or a coach, they would say, ‘Give me 12-15 [minutes]. If you go under or over, it doesn’t matter, it’s a live event.’”

On the ability for house shows to let talent have fun: “But you also get to play around. You do things at live events that you’d never do on TV. You know, jokes, how you might clown around.”