Rico Constantino has confirmed he is open to wrestling another tag match for a bigger wrestling promotion once he is medically cleared from his ongoing blood clot and heart blockage issues, stating on Insight with Chris Van Vliet that he would not need long to get back into ring shape.
Constantino, 64, returned to a wrestling ring in March 2026 for the first time in 21 years at an AEW show alongside Billy Gunn. He has since been managing a new round of medical concerns. Asked whether he is officially retired now, he framed the answer as conditional.
“I’m going through the blood clots and the blockage, right now I am retired. But if they can clear the blockage, either with a stent or remove it, and these go away, I’ll return to part-time work. I’ll go and work again, and maybe you know, if somebody wants me to make a special appearance, I’ll get right back into ring shape.”
Asked if he would wrestle another match, Constantino was even more direct.
“I would. Yep. As soon as I get into ring shape, I would, and it won’t take me long. Yeah, I’d love to. In one of the bigger promotions and stuff like that, I’d love to do a tag match. Not ready to do with singles yet. I would love a tag match.”
Constantino’s most recent in-ring appearance was the AEW Dynamite segment with Billy Gunn that aired in March 2026. He laid out his version of the booking and pitch.
“Oh yeah, I just wish we could have told, told a story in a pre-tape, because people weren’t really getting it, because the crowd had changed over 20 years, and Billy just off the cuff went down, and he cut a promo off top of his head, saying, ‘I know you’re the guy that almost made me marry Chuck, you know. So then maybe brought some stuff back, and we did the match, and Billy got his revenge at the end, you know, I interfered with the match and stuff like that, and then Billy snuck up behind me, and all of a sudden you saw the match, and, oh, I know this face, I know that ass. Oh, turn around, no, Billy, no.”
Constantino said he had pitched the booking idea differently, with more storytelling context before the match.
“I told you off camera what I thought of, and it was shot down.”
If you use quotes from this article, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and include a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
