AEW star Brian Cage has revealed (via his Instagram account) that he recently underwent a full knee replacement, his second major surgery in just eight weeks following a procedure to repair a torn quad tendon. In a social media post today, the 41-year-old powerhouse confirmed the news and detailed the significant creative plans that were derailed by his injuries.
Cage explained that he made the decision to have the knee replacement while already on the sidelines. “I’ve been dealing with excessive knee pain for years and have been working through it with the intention of going under the knife after All In,” Cage wrote. “With the unfortunate setback of tearing my quad, I figured F it, let’s just get em both done. Not an easy or fun choice, but I’m gonna come back ripping heads off.”
Cage posted a video of himself already back in the gym just four days after the knee replacement surgery. “Love me, hate me, or somewhere in-between, you can’t deny I’m a f***ing machine!” he stated. He gave a shout-out to WWE star Ricochet for filming the workout session.
The initial quad injury occurred at a critical time for Cage and his tag team partner, Lance Archer. The duo was reportedly in the midst of a significant push and was slated to begin a program for the AEW World Tag Team Championships against the then-champions, Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin.
The title match was expected to be announced for the AEW Dynasty pay-per-view on April 6, but the quad injury happened just days before the angle was set to begin on television. As a result of Cage’s injury, the team of Big Bill & Bryan Keith was put into the championship program in their place. Cage’s original plan was to work through his knee pain until after the All In: Texas pay-per-view in July before addressing it.
