Jon Moxley’s moving to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has had the Internet wrestling fans monitoring the WWE wrestlers’ social media closely. Even their liking a tweet about WWE’s dismal booking makes the front page of wrestling message boards of late.
However, there’s no smoke without fire. A good number of them are actually seeking a move away from WWE due to a multitude of reasons. However, not all of them are going to sign for AEW, considering the company has already claimed they won’t hoard talents like WWE does. Besides, it doesn’t make sense for them to sign WWE rejects.
In this article, we take a look at five potentially disgruntled WWE wrestlers who won’t get an AEW contract and five whose place in AEW is already guaranteed.
10 Won’t Get: Rusev
Rusev is a three-time United States Champion. He even had a match against The Undertaker at a Saudi Arabia event, but the common consensus is he’s underutilized in WWE. The Bulgarian wrestler, at one point, was the most over-wrestler at the height of his Rusev Day shtick, but WWE chose not to capitalize on his momentum.
Now lost in the Wildcard Rule malarkey, he’s seemingly looking for a move away from the company to realize his potential. However, while Shawn Spears has secured an AEW contract, Rusev’s getting one is quite unlikely as they already have a stacked roster.
9 Will Sign Soon: Harper
While most others find their place on this list merely based off speculations, Harper is the only wrestler to not just request a release from WWE but also make his position public. The former Intercontinental Champion has been a major player in WWE’s tag-team division, but WWE never seemed keen on pushing him as a singles wrestler.
Their refusing to add him to the WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt was the final nail in the coffin. In AEW, he likely won’t be locking horns with Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Pac, and Jon Moxley right away, but he’ll prove a solid addition, considering his style and experience.
8 Won’t Get: Cedric Alexander
After putting on classics with every cruiserweight wrestler on 205 Live, Cedric Alexander finally moved to the main roster as part of the Superstar Shakeup. Indeed, he was never going to main-event shows, but the Internet fans hoped he’d challenge for the Intercontinental or United States Championship. However, he’s found himself chasing R-Truth and his 24/7 Championship alongside enhancement talents.
Referencing a lack of TV time, the former Cruiserweight Champion tweeted earlier this month: “I swear I can still wrestle.” However, it’s unlikely he’ll move to AEW right away; he’ll look to establish himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) before moving back to the United States of America (USA).
7 Will Sign Soon: Sasha Banks
It’s no longer a secret that Sasha Banks is unhappy about her position in the company. One of the biggest merchandise movers over the last few years, main-roster success has always eluded her. She did have four Women’s Championship reigns, albeit only for a measly 80 days.
According to the grapevine, she valued her winning the Women’s Tag Team Championship highly and looked to have an extended run with the titles with her friend Bayley, but WWE made The IIconics dethrone them, at WrestleMania no less. She hasn’t appeared in WWE since then and is primed for a move to AEW once her WWE contract ends.
6 Won’t Get: Mojo Rawley
Even if WWE doesn’t appreciate a wrestler’s prowess, the Interent fans make sure they do. Even The Ascension’s Viktor has a solid following online. Mojo Rawley, however, is an anomaly. The WWE stopped caring about him following The Hype Bros’ break-up and the fans followed suit.
After a decent start to his main roster career, he’s floundered big-time. Despite his putting his everything into his current gimmick, nothing is working out for him in WWE right now. It’s unlikely he gets over with the AEW crowd as well. His best bet would be rebuilding his career in Impact Wrestling or Ring of Honor (ROH) Wrestling.
5 Will Sign Soon: Gran Metalik
Lucha House Party's formation has helped Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik get some screen time after their being on the sidelines for what felt like an eternity. While they've been having fun matches, the common consensus among the Internet fans is that the latter is being misused in WWE.
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The AEW's fan base consists chiefly of the Internet fans and repackaging him as Mascara Dorada and adding a killer instinct to his career will get him over with the AEW crowd pretty easily. Once his contract expires, one can expect AEW to get in touch with him.
4 Won’t Get: Lio Rush
Lio Rush hasn’t appeared on WWE television in months following some alleged disciplinary issues. Despite that, he still remains contracted to WWE and it’s only a matter of time before he’s future-endeavored from the company. The 24-year-old wrestler may look to rebuild his career away from WWE, but it’s unlikely AEW comes calling for him as he hasn’t established himself as a big name. He’s probably better off working for Major League Wrestling (MLW), Impact Wrestling or ROH Wrestling for the time being. Perhaps, down the line, he’ll become worthy of an AEW contract.
3 Will Sign Soon: The Revival
According to many reliable reports, The Revival have been clamoring for a move away from WWE, but it seems the company is keen on retaining their services. In fact, they’ve even promised to make them the face of their tag-team division in an attempt to ensure they don’t jump ship.
It’s quite possible The Revival, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, are working the Internet fans but, should they force a move away from WWE, AEW will sign them in a heartbeat. The Internet fans will finally get to witness their dream The Revival vs. The Young Bucks match.
2 Won’t Get: Rhyno
Rhyno’s current WWE contract expires shortly and the former ECW Champion has claimed he looks to tour the indies. He mentioned AEW, Impact Wrestling, ROH Wrestling, and NJPW as potential destinations. While the latter four will be keen on his services as a wrestler, AEW probably will only want to sign him as a producer or trainer given his experience.
While they’ve already signed aging Dustin Rhodes and Chris Jericho and had Tommy Dreamer play a part in the Casino Battle Royale, they’d become laughing stocks if they signed all the free-agent legends, like Impact Wrestling did.
1 Will Sign Soon: Buddy Murphy
Buddy Murphy had a mini-career revival when he moved to 205 Live. He didn’t just dominate the division kayfabe-wise, for he also created four-star matches every time he laced his wrestling boots. It proved an inspirational story after he was largely overlooked in favor of Finn Balor, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Samoa Joe in NXT.
Since moving to SmackDown Live, however, he’s done nothing noteworthy and was only used as an extra in the Saudi Arabia battle royal. Should he leave WWE, AEW will snap him up like they did Jon Moxley.