QT Marshall officially challenges Costco Guy AJ, match will happen in AEW

** UPDATED ARTICLE **

AEW uploaded a video of Q.T. Marshall officially issuing a challenge to Costco Guy AJ. 

** ORIGINAL ARTICLE ** 

Costco Guy A.J. will be in action for AEW.

Earlier in the week, Costco Guys (A.J. & Big Justice) put out the message that they’re All Elite. A.J. said he signed a contract to return to the ring for one match and that bout will be hosted by All Elite Wrestling. He added that he does not know who his opponent will be or when the match is going to happen.

A new episode of Gabby AF was released featuring Q.T. Marshall. He serves as AEW’s Vice President of Show and Creative Coordination.

To start, Marshall responded to comments made by Mark Henry, who shared that he was told by someone that while he was with AEW, Marshall called him ‘stupid.’ Henry said he did not believe it, but the person who told him would take a bullet for him. 

Marshall does not remember ever saying that about Mark and mentioned that he thought of ideas to get Henry back in the ring. Marshall said he can tell when people want to have one more match and he wants to give it to them. That led to him mentioning Costco Guy AJ.

So speaking of Mark Henry, he said I called him stupid. I don’t know where. I read it somewhere and I was like… Yeah (recently), and he said, ‘The reason I didn’t care is because I didn’t believe it was true’ and I’m thinking in my head, like… I like Mark a lot and to the point where, like I did with Paul Wight, I actually thought of ideas to get Mark back in the ring, and I’m big on, ‘This will be easy. We’ll have fun.’ Plus, I can tell when people still want that one more match and I wanna give it to them. Costco Guy, right? So basically, I read something that he was talking about the behind the scenes and then he said, ‘And one time, Q.T. –’ and I just wanna say, Mark, I don’t remember saying that but he did say whoever told him would take a bullet for him. So, I wish when he heard that, he would have brought me in a room with the other person and sat us down, as uncomfortable as that would have been because one, I would have admitted to it or the other person would’ve had to admit that they’re lying. Misconstrued something or whatever it is but Mark, if you’re listening, I don’t remember calling you that. I don’t know why I would say that. He’s super talented, right?… I was gonna text him but then I was like, ah, it’s just opening up for what?

Later in the show, the host Gabby LaSpisa mentioned that she’ll be at Full Gear in Newark, New Jersey and if the match between Marshall and A.J. happens there, she wants to see Marshall win. Q.T. said he wants to embarrass him in front of Big Justice.

A.J. (Costco Guy)… I want me to win too.. Me too (I want to embarrass him in front of Big Justice). Or I’ll hit the kid too. I don’t think I’m allowed but…

Marshall returned to his role at AEW in 2024 after announcing his departure from the company in late 2023. He explained that him and Tony Khan did not see eye to eye on ‘wrestling stuff.’

Marshall’s deal was up in either late December or early 2024, but several days into the new year, he met with Khan and then was back at AEW.

Even my boss, I don’t wrestle at AEW because we just never really saw eye to eye on the wrestling stuff… I know when I left, one of the parts of the conversation was like, ‘I don’t care. I can go do other stuff too.’ I would hate to leave wrestling and I genuinely would. It’s my favorite thing in the world, it’s all I care about besides my wife and dog. But, at the same time, I’ll be fine. I’ll go do something else and whatever I do, I will do well at, right? That’s just the way I feel and I could be wrong, but…

I think it was maybe all the talents going to Tony (Khan) and just asking to have me back because we spoke and you know, it was like, within an hour, we were able to, ‘I’ll come back…’ It was weird. I had announced I was leaving in the beginning of November but my deal wasn’t up till December, or till January 1st and then like January 2nd or 3rd, I went to meet Tony. So it’s like we had two or three days of being free I guess and that was really it. I didn’t even really give free agency a chance, because I genuinely didn’t want that. Like I said, I just told you, I literally just wanted to lose on Rampage, once a month, you know I mean? I make good money. I just need to have fun at the same time, and so, now I’m at a point where I can do that and I just won’t be on Rampage, and I’m sure if I had my gear — there’s been a couple times I’ve been asked to do stuff. But I just don’t have my gear with me. I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t have my gear. I’m sorry,’ and he’s like, ‘Oh, okay. Well you know, we were gonna use you for that.’ ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t have my gear,’ and then everyone else in the office is like, ‘You know you’re dying to do that.’ Yeah, of course but I’m not gonna give in. I’m just not gonna give in. 

Marshall is active on the independent scene for promotions such as Coastal Championship Wrestling in Florida. Over the summer, he wrestled at Triplemanía in Tijuana.

His most recent bout under the AEW banner was in July in a dark match prior to Blood & Guts.

If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Gabby AF with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.

About Andrew Thompson 9617 Articles
A Washington D.C. native and graduate of Norfolk State University, Andrew Thompson has been covering wrestling since 2017.