AEW Rumours - Who is Staying and Who is Leaving? PART TWO
Okay continuing on from yesterdays post. We are looking at the rumours of who is jumping ship to AEW from WWE and working out whether there is much truth to them:
Tye Dillinger
WWE or AEW?
Tye Dillinger
Tye is a weird case for this. He’s never had much affiliation with the guys running AEW, in fact he’s not had much affiliation with anyone outside of WWE. He has been with the WWE for 13 years, and has worked his ass off in Developmental to earn the huge push he got in NXT and he was legitimately SO over with the crowd when he debuted at the Royal Rumble 2017. But when the AEW rumors started being churned around the Internet - Tye was a name being thrown in the mix quite often. He even put out a tweet just before the official announcement of AEW that made it look like he was in fact leaving WWE. So for those reasons, I think it could be a move we could see happen. But I also think he is one of those guys that has been with the WWE for so long, it will be hard for him to lose that label if he wanted to venture out into other promotions.
VERDICT: Possibly jumping ship
Adam Cole
WWE or AEW?
Adam Cole
Adam was a big part of Being The Elite, as well as being in the Bullet Club. His girlfriend Britt Baker is the first big female wrestler announced for AEW. And a lot of critics have said that he won’t make it in WWE due to his size. But personally I think Adam Cole is made for WWE, and he will go on to be a big part of the main roster. He is born to play a heel role, and him and the rest of The Undisputed Era were arguably the best thing to happen to WWE in 2018. So personally I don’t think Adam is going anywhere baybay.
VERDICT: Staying in WWE
Dolph Ziggler
WWE or AEW?
Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Zigglers name is synonymous with “leaving WWE”. For YEARS he has constantly been heavily rumoured to be wanting to leave the company, either to wrestle elsewhere or to try and crack Hollywood. These rumours have gone on for so long now, that I don’t see him leaving WWE any time soon. He has been at the WWE for 15 years and is one of the biggest success stories of a home grown WWE talent. I don’t see him leaving WWE for another wrestling company, maybe to pursue an alternative career - but ultimately I dont think we will see Dolph Ziggler in the ring of any other company.
But saying that, I think if there is any wrestler on this list who could pull out a huge switch on me - it’s the unpredictable Dolph Ziggler.
VERDICT: Staying in WWE
Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE or AEW?
Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura went from being one of the biggest names in Japanese wrestling, to the biggest name in NXT, to pretty much nothing in WWE apart from a forgettable Royal Rumble win. I am a HUGE fan of Shinsuke. And ultimately I would love to see him move back to NJPW and maybe finish his career there. He could have some classic matches with Jay White, god level Okada, Omega and him and Tanahashi could still put on a 5* classic in my opinion.
VERDICT: NJPW Bound
Jim Ross
WWE or AEW?
Jim Ross
When the rumour mill started bubbling about AEW it was “The Elite, Jericho, JR working with Tony Khan to create a new wrestling promotion”. All of those guys were correct - except for good ol’ JR. Jim Ross is still under contract with WWE until March, so legally he wouldn’t be able to admit anything until then. But I think it is safe to say we will see JR in AEW in some form. I’m hoping as Talent Relations, because there aren’t many who can do that job as well as JR.
VERDICT: AEW Bound
AJ Styles
WWE or AEW?
AJ Styles
AJ has wrestled in nearly all the major promotions; WCW, WWE, TNA, ROH, NJPW. He has teamed with the Young Bucks and even appeared on Being The Elite. Nobody can really say that he hasn’t been treated well in WWE. He had a huge WWE Title run, his debut at the Rumble was fantastic, and he has feuded with a variety of guys. He is approaching the tail end of his career, and has even stated he wants to retire on top (and within the next couple of years). Personally to me, that says he is staying in WWE for the long haul. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a few appearances a few years down the line at AEW.