Bandido made a surprise comeback at ROH Final Battle on Friday, coming to the aid of Matt Cardona during an attack by The Learning Tree.

The shocking moment came after Chris Jericho successfully defended his ROH World Championship against Cardona. As Jericho celebrated, Bryan Keith and Big Bill ambushed the defeated challenger, beginning a brutal beatdown. Suddenly, Bandido’s music played, and he rushed to the ring, delivering a kick to Bill and a dropkick to Jericho.

However, the moment wasn’t without concern. Bandido appeared to hit the back of his head hard on the mat during the dropkick, causing him to struggle getting back to his feet. The referee briefly checked on him, and Bandido seemed slow to recover. Despite this, he continued to fight off Keith and Big Bill, who eventually exited the ring after some awkward exchanges with the returning star.

Bandido has been sidelined since June 2023 due to a wrist injury sustained in an AEW Rampage match with Konosuke Takeshita. Although complications prolonged his recovery, Bandido’s return was teased with vignettes on AEW television in recent weeks. However, his official in-ring return in AEW has not yet been confirmed.

A former ROH World Champion, Bandido held the title for 152 days in 2021 before being forced to vacate it due to contracting COVID-19 just ahead of a scheduled title defense. This situation set the stage for a storyline in which Bandido, never having lost the title in the ring, faced Jonathan Gresham in a title vs. title match at Supercard of Honor in April 2022.

Notably, during Jericho’s first reign as ROH Champion, Bandido was one of the challengers. The two clashed in September 2022, with Jericho successfully defending his title against Bandido.

The former ROH World Champion RETURNS!

Watch #ROHFinalBattle on #HonorClub at https://t.co/8dcdtxqvDf@IAmJericho | @TheMattCardona | @BountyKeith | @TheCazXL | @BandidoWrestler pic.twitter.com/x7wVhUKgnk

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 21, 2024