WWE needs to look in the mirror after AEW’s star-studded free agency haul

AEW is the clear winner in pro wrestling free agency, and WWE shouldn’t take that lightly.

Even though AEW is coming out of the doldrums, AEW Chairman Tony Khan was able to bring in the Big Three of Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Mone. He is one of the three best wrestlers in the world.

The additions and success of the Revolution seems to have injected new energy into AEW’s locker room, much like pro teams adding stars at the trade deadline. During the promotion for Dynamite, Ospreay referenced AEW’s rallying cry of “bring back the emotion” as the organization looks to reinvigorate energy and interest in the promotion.

“I’m an emotion,” Ospreay said.

WWE is hot as ever and doesn’t need any of these three at the moment, but the fact that none of them chose to come to the industry leader should at least give Triple H & Co. a little reprieve. .

Because in the worst case scenario, you want to keep talent away from your closest competitors. WWE’s biggest signings are wrestlers unhappy with their positions in AEW, including Cody Rhodes, Jade Cargill, Sean Spears, Brian Pillman Jr., and the fired CM Punk, and there is a lot of tension between the two sides. He is not a player who has made a clear choice.

Listening to Ospreay and Mone talk about why they signed with AEW, several clear advantages seem to emerge. Some of it is similar to what WCW has had in the past.

First, Khan always seems to be doing his best financially, and like WCW, AEW doesn’t rely on downside guarantees. And they get that money with a much lighter schedule of taping AEW on Wednesdays and Saturdays. WWE’s schedule is much less demanding than it used to be, but top stars still have to do a weekly house show loop that doesn’t exist in AEW.

AEW’s reduced schedule will allow talent to spend more time with their families, allowing Khan to give international stars like Ospreay the option to continue living in the UK with his girlfriend and son-in-law. Ospreay said on the Talk Is Jericho podcast that offers from AEW and WWE were “night and day.”

“Even if there’s a difference between what they’re offering and what AEW is offering, AEW was much better,” Ospreay said. “The schedule, everything about AEW was absolutely the right choice for me. It was always about being a superstar and being famous in WWE, but the pay isn’t that good and the schedule isn’t that good. Being there I respect what everyone else is doing, but it’s not for me.”

It reminds me of something Mone (who has said he would eventually return to WWE) brought up frequently last week. AEW is giving her the opportunity to take her revolution “worldwide.” What she means is that, unlike WWE, signing with AEW also gives her much more freedom to work with other companies. That could mean working with New Japan Pro Wrestling or CMLL in Mexico, or joining GCW or other independent promotions. For Ospreay and Okada, this allows them to maintain what little connection they have to the promotion they have left. These relationships also allowed talent to get a taste of AEW and work with Khan before becoming free agents. AEW also holds stadium shows in the UK with All In.

You have a variety of promotions that not only make WWE’s billion dollar company richer, but also keep this fruitful environment for other performers while highlighting the talent that doesn’t make it onto TV. There is an opportunity to enrich the foundation of the profession through.every week in America

WWE is slowly making progress in that area, allowing Shinsuke Nakamura to perform with The Great Muta during his retirement tour, and recently Shayna Baszler co-starring with mentor Josh Barnett on his Bloodsport show on GCW. However, there was still a way to build WWE. Cooperation with other promotions carried out by Khan.

Fortunately for WWE, it may be less reliant on free agency for new talent than AEW, as NXT and the Performance Center system allow it to continue developing new stars in-house.

However, opportunities to sign prime event talent like Okada, Ospreay, and Mone don’t come along very often, and WWE was unable to land any of them.

Yes, Okada’s close relationship with the Young Bucks was a factor, but it all should lead to a moment of reflection for WWE.

Getting a WrestleMania moment may not be as appealing as it was in the past, and WWE may need to open its checkbook a little wider or offer other incentives. Because unlike in the past when they were like the New York Yankees in free agency, WWE may be increasingly working with them from behind the scenes.

meet your new boss

Mercedes Mone’s heel turn will come at some point, but the former WWE star knocking her babyface appearance in AEW off the table marks the first time we’ll ever see Mercedes Varnado on TV. This is probably because the number of characters on TV has decreased. What she talked about was real, raw, and relatable.

She was treated like a star, including a costume change to save Willow Nightingale in the main event. AEW seems to be looking to pick up her story from her New Japan Pro Wrestling run with Nightingale before and after the TBS Championship. Mone seems ready to be the face of the division that AEW needs.

Cody’s cutting promotion

The rock concert part of SmackDown was a lot of fun. The Rock, who had been announced to appear on the final Raw before WrestleMania at Barclays Center, cut a promo that looked very similar to the one on social media after the stunning “Moana” Other than the finish, it was a little disappointing. But with The Rock, who is certainly pushing WWE’s G rating, going after Cody Rhodes’ mother, the WrestleMania moment could be huge. And even though WWE talent is reportedly concerned about double standards, they don’t get it, right? Of course it will be.

But more importantly, this promo gave us the kind of outrage we were waiting for a response from Rose. His dark suit promos always seem to look a little different. He called Rock an asshole, a whining bitch, a Roman fag, and said he had “Little Deke Syndrome.” Let’s just hope Friday’s build with Reigns is as good as this one.

ten count

WWE is working with Chad Gable and Sami Zayn to prepare something, but the former has doubts about the No. 1 contender’s ability to defeat Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania. Will Zayn ultimately step aside for Gable, or will Gable train Zayn to prepare him to take down the Ring General?

I enjoy the fact that almost all of Tony D’Angelo’s story building is done in mob movie style episodes. It made him feel special, and this week’s match at the Bridge with NXT Champion Ilya Dragunov might have been his best yet.

Khan could bring Athena to AEW before or after AEW Dynasty, as Hikaru Shida will face Ring of Honor Women’s Champion Athena as a potential opponent on April 5th on Super Card of Honor. And since ROH still has a veteran champion, Billy Starks can continue to grow. She seems destined to win the Women’s Television Championship tournament.

Wardlow has certainly left the AEW Championship screen on a whimper for now.

On Raw, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa defeated the Creed Brothers to win the Tag Team Classic and earn a ticket to their first WrestleMania in the best TV match we’ve seen all year. We featured two of them. And in the main event, Becky Lynch and Nia Jax won the final women’s standing match.

Before I set off to climb Everest, I would like to pay a special tribute to Darby Allin, who broke his leg wrestling Jay White on Big Business and postponed his climb until 2025. It seems the universe had other plans.