On tonight’s Fyter Fest Week 2 episode of Dynamite on TBS, former WWE NXT Superstar Cole Karter (a.k.a. Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan) is scheduled to make his comeback to AEW action.
Ricky Starks, the FTW Champion, issued an open challenge, to which Karter responded. The FTW title will be on the line.
Ain’t dead yet ⭐️ @AEW pic.twitter.com/VGg3eE0oiK
— Cole Karter (@realcolekarter) July 20, 2022
Karter, who is dating NXT 2.0 Superstar Thea Hail, was signed by WWE as a member of the mid-March class at the WWE Performance Center, which also included Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion Roxanne Perez, Sloane Jacobs, and Arianna Grace, among others. He and Stacks were later formed into a tag team, and shortly after that, they teamed up with Tony D’Angelo to form The Family.
After reportedly failing a drug test, Karter was released from his WWE contract on June 11. However, the drug for which he tested positive was never made public. Officials explained to Karter how they might bring him back to the company in about a year, it was noted at the time. Karter confirmed the departure in a statement on June 13 and promised to return after this “bump in the road,” adding that “mistakes happen and lessons are learned.” Karter was recently written out of the company after Tony D told him to “sleep with the fishes” for attempting to challenge him for control of The Family.
Karter will not be making his company debut. He made his AEW debut at the April 7, 2021 Elevation tapings, teaming with Andrew Palace, and losing to QT Marshall and Nick Comoroto before joining with WWE.
Karter returned to AEW at the Dark tapings from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday. He was up against Mike Orlando, an enhancement talent. For spoilers from those tapings, click here. The bout with Starks tonight might indicate that Karter has signed a deal with AEW, but as of this writing, it has not been confirmed.
Here is the updated line-up for tonight’s Dynamite from the Gas South Arena in Duluth, GA:
– Cole Karter (fka WWE NXT’s Troy Donovan) answers Open Challenge issued by FTW Champion Ricky Starks
– Championship Celebration for new AEW World Tag Team Champions Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland
– AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill and Kiera Hogan vs. Athena and Willow Nightingale
– Brody King vs. Darby Allin
– Christian Cage and Luchasaurus vs. The Varsity Blonds
– ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta and Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley vs. Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta
– Barbed Wire Everywhere Death Match: Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston. The Jericho Appreciation Society will be hanging above the ring in a shark cage
