AEW announces major star suffered an injury at Full Gear 2024 - "We wish him a speedy recovery"
AEW Full Gear has come and gone, and the sixth edition of the November pay-per-view featured a number of impactful moments. Unfortunately, a popular guest star was injured at the event.
Today, the promotion revealed that "Big Boom" AJ Befumo had broken his foot during his bout against QT Marshall on Full Gear's Zero Hour pre-show. However, the TikTok star fought through the pain and finished the match with a win, to the delight of fans in the Prudential Center.
Befumo is known as one half of the Costco Guys, alongside his son, "Big Justice" Eric Befumo. Both Big Justice and The Rizzler were ringside for AJ's match against QT Marshall, with the former getting involved towards the end of the bout.
All Elite Wrestling took to its official X/Twitter account today to let fans know that "Big Boom" AJ had been injured. The company wished him a speedy recovery:
"While bringing the BOOM! against @QTMarshall on this past Saturday's #AEWFullGear Zero Hour, Big BOOM! @ajbefumo suffered a broken foot but managed to fight valiantly and earn the victory in his #AEW debut in front of his son, #BigJustice, friend #TheRizzler, more than 10,000 fans at @PruCenter and millions of fans from around the world watching at home. AEW looks forward to welcoming Big BOOM! A.J., Big Justice and the whole Costco Guys crew back anytime, and we wish him a speedy recovery."
Taz responds to fan discourse over "Big Boom" AJ vs. QT Marshall at AEW Full Gear
Despite the popularity of the Costco Guys in mainstream pop culture, some fans were not on board with "Big Boom" AJ competing in a match at a major pay-per-view, even if it was on the pre-show. AJ Befumo happens to be a retired professional wrestler with plenty of experience on the Northeast independent scene, but that didn't seem to quell the backlash.
All Ellite commentator Taz spoke out about the negative reaction before Full Gear, noting that AJ was a popular personality and that the match was good for business:
"It’s still amazes me as the build towards tonight’s #AEWFullGear ppv show… some hardcore fans are still confused or b*tching & crying moaning that the Costco guy has a match. Wake up… This guy has a huge reach which basically means he has a massive following of millions. Fresh eyes folks!!! It’s all about the casuals… it’s smart business. It’s not about 'bangers,'" Taz wrote.
At Full Gear's post-show media scrum, Tony Khan revealed that he loved working with the Costco Guys and would love to bring AJ back. It remains to be seen if the 48-year-old will return after recovering from his injury.