The Blade is looking back fondly on his time in AEW following his departure from the company, highlighting several matches and moments that made his six-year run memorable.
Speaking on Talk’n Shop, Jesse Guilmette reflected on some of the standout experiences he had during his tenure with AEW. While he admitted it was difficult to choose a single favorite match, several contests immediately came to mind.
Among them was a Falls Count Anywhere match against The Young Bucks during the pandemic era at Daily’s Place, a bout he still views as one of the highlights of his career. He also pointed to being FTR’s first opponents after their AEW arrival, a match that opened the show and left a lasting impression.
One of the most memorable chapters of his AEW run involved sharing the ring with Sting. Guilmette joked that for several weeks his role seemed to revolve around catching the WWE Hall of Famer after he launched himself from balconies and elevated platforms.
“It’s hard for me to pick one but just to rattle some off the top of my head. During the pandemic, we had a really good Falls Count Anywhere match with The Young Bucks. Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. That was really big. We were FTR’s first match when they showed up, and we were the opener of the show. That was a really good one. Just getting to work with Sting, period. I got to wrestle Sting a couple times. There was a month-long period where basically my job was I would show up to work and have to catch Sting jumping off a balcony, for like four weeks straight.
“Getting to work with Sting was great. We had a really good one with (Jon) Moxley and Claudio (Castagnoli) on Rampage. We got a standing ovation in the middle of the match. Tables match, live on Dynamite with The Hardys. So yeah, it’s hard for me to pick just one but, in our six-year run, we had a lot of good moments there for sure.”
Looking ahead, The Blade admitted he is still deciding what comes next but is embracing a return to the independent wrestling scene. After spending two decades on the indies before joining AEW, he said reconnecting with familiar promotions and wrestlers has reignited his enthusiasm for the business.
“Right now, you know, what’s next-next? I’m not sure. But I just know that right now, that it’s really exciting doing indies again. I was an independent wrestler for 20 years. It feels good to be doing old shows that I did for a long time. It feels good to be doing new shows again. Feels good to be working with guys I worked with 10 years ago. It feels good to be working and wrestling with new guys. Right now, it’s all very exciting. It feels good.”
The Blade and longtime tag team partner The Butcher departed AEW earlier this month when their contracts expired. The duo first arrived in AEW in late 2019 and quickly became a recognizable force in the tag team division. Known for their bruising, hard-hitting style, The Butcher and The Blade shared the ring with many of AEW’s biggest stars and played a consistent role across both AEW and ROH programming. Their final tag team appearances for the promotions came in January 2024, bringing an end to a partnership that spanned much of AEW’s existence.