Grado made his debut in AEW on Sunday, appearing alongside Paul Wight and Anthony Ogogo on the All In pre-show.
He came out alongside the two stars to take on Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal.
Jarrett had spent his time running down British wrestling, although he also attacked Grado with a guitar weeks earlier, during a broadcast on TalkSport.
During the segment, he hit his trademark punches on Jarrett, before smashing Jarrett’s guitar on his head – getting revenge for Jarrett’s attack on TalkSport the week before.
This was a huge moment for British wrestling. Grado is the most popular UK-only wrestler in the country, despite his forray into the world of soap opera and pantomimes in recent years.
The crowd clearly knew who Grado was, and popped huge when he nailed Jarrett in the head with his guitar.
Grado was a fun surprise for hardcore British fans, but missed out on the sing-a-long with the fans that he became famous for.
Scotland’s Grado is best known for his incrediblt unique entrance into the ring. Fans will remember the clips from ICW, where he entered to the hit 1980s song “Like a Prayer”.
The Madonna song was a favorite of Grado’s, who used the song to help catapult him into the main event of Scotland’s biggest promotion.
There was hope that the song would be heard at Wembley Stadium, but the incredible entrance was not meant to be.
AEW could not secure the rights to the song, although no details have been made public. With hits like Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy” being used at the show, it is unlikely that money was the issue for Tony Khan.
Instead, it is likely that Madonna herself blocked the song being used. This would be unlikely, but the same thing happened back in 2015 when Grado made his debut in TNA.
TNA (now Impact Wrestling) brokered the deal with the record company for the song to appear on their show for Grado’s entrance.
However, Madonna blocked the use of “Like a Prayer” a week before. She even ignored a social media campaign to get her to allow the song to be played, leaving Grado without his signature entrance for his debut.