If WWE doesn't go about their business and booking carefully over these next few months, they'll only continue to help AEW close the gap.

Since April 2020, WWE has conducted dozens of superstar and employee layoffs. This includes Braun Strowman, Aleister Black (now Malakai Black in AEW) and the greatly underused Bray Wyatt.

Over a 16-day span, AEW brought in CM Punk, Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan in WWE) and former NXT Champion Adam Cole. Those three talents alone are capable of seriously helping AEW inch closer to reaching the same level as WWE.

RELATED: Why Kevin Owens Should Stay In WWE (& Why He Should Join AEW)

This brings us to another prominent wrestler and former Universal Champion in Kevin Owens, whose WWE contract reportedly expires this upcoming January. That gives WWE four and a half months to properly utilize Owens and hopefully convince him to stay, or risk watching him succeed in another promotion — likely AEW.

Twitter activity from Owens and The Young Bucks fueled speculation that the 37-year-old may be planning a move to AEW. We don't know what Owens is thinking right now, but if WWE hopes to retain him, they better fmaximize his world-class skill set and talents once and for all.

Owens Has Flourished As A Main Event Star

kevin owens roman reigns

It's hard to comprehend how and why Owens never got another World Championship run following his highly successful Universal Championship reign. The decision to have Goldberg squash him for the title at Fastlane 2017 has gone down as one of the worst booking calls of the past five years, especially from a long-term standpoint.

Worse yet, WWE never bothered to push Owens back into the main event spotlight following his loss to Goldberg. Instead, he did his job as a mid-card heel (before turning babyface in 2019) and tag team performer.

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Late last year, Owens entered a feud with Universal Champion Roman Reigns. He turned out to be the perfect long-term opponent for The Tribal Chief, as they put on two clinical performances at TLC and the Royal Rumble.

Owens displayed the rare ability to shine as both a babyface main eventer and as a heel main eventer. Only so many current WWE superstars boast that skill, and if Owens were to leave the company in January, there would be no easy way of replacing him.

WWE Needs More Strong Babyfaces

Kevin Owens on commentary Cropped

There is no shortage of top-notch heels on the WWE roster right now. This includes Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns, The Usos, Charlotte Flair, Omos, AJ Styles, The Miz, Becky Lynch and Happy Corbin.

But when it comes to established and quality babyfaces, the depth is rather thin. You have new WWE Champion Big E, his New Day allies in Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods plus Drew McIntyre, Bianca Belair, King Nakamura, Alexa Bliss and a repackaged Brock Lesnar.

Those are all strong stars to build around, but this cannot be denied: There far more main event-caliber heels than faces right now.

The 2021 WWE Draft is coming up, and at some point, Reigns and other heel champions are going to need new opponents. Regardless of where the Universal Champion goes at the draft, he has already feuded with most of the top babyfaces on SmackDown, and he already has a history with top Raw stars like McIntyre and Randy Orton.

Owens has proven to be an excellent and fitting oppponent for Reigns. This is a feud WWE could run long-term before or after WrestleMania 38 season. Reigns vs Lesnar can't run forever, after all.

If Owens leaves WWE following the expiration of his contract, it'll leave a significant and irreplaceable hole on the roster. That's why it's imperative for the company to invest in a long-term main event push for the Prized Fighter. It only increase their chances of signing him to a new deal.