6 Released WWE Wrestlers Who Should Sign With AEW

April 15th will forever remain one of the darkest days in WWE history. A total of 29 superstars found themselves released from their contracts as a result of the financial hardships being faced by the company during these uncertain times. WWE’s method of reducing costs means that there’s a wide range of talented performers now free to compete on the independents once again, performers that we hope find work as soon as possible to help them bounce back at this pivotal time in their wrestling career.

Many fans are already speculating that most of the released talent will be in talks with AEW once things begin to return to normality. Naturally, All Elite Wrestling has become a safe haven for former WWE stars who are looking to express themselves a little more often than once every other house show. Brodie Lee, Matt Hardy, Shawn Spears; all former WWE stars that have reaped the benefits of greener pastures.

Hopefully all this misery leads to some sort of light at the end of the tunnel, and all of the released superstars find success in their near future. But out of all 29 superstars, we believe these 6 should be snapped up by AEW as soon as possible.

Who would you like to see signed to All Elite Wrestling? Make sure you drop your own preferences in the comments below.

 

1. Rusev & Aiden English

Rusev developed somewhat of a cult following with his popular Rusev Day gimmick. He and Aiden English found themselves creating a worldwide buzz that even the powers that be couldn’t ignore. In spite of this, the duo were never rewarded with any sort of spotlight or Tag title run, and they were quickly shoe-horned into a break-up feud that involved Rusev’s wife Lana, a typical feature in WWE’s worst storylines.

Rusev meandered about the mid-card and occasionally flirted with the main event scene, whereas Aiden English used his charisma to get himself by on the commentary table, but nobody can deny that when used together, they were absolute money.

Now that both men have been released from their WWE contracts, it begs the question of why AEW wouldn’t want to sign them as soon as possible. Using the hype of Rusev Day to make them one of the most talked about teams in their tag division would be a huge step up for both performers, a little more in line with their undeniable talent and likeability.

 

2. Heath Slater

The last remaining member of 3MB to not win a major WWE championship unfortunately won’t be getting his chance at stardom anytime soon. Heath Slater was one of the more surprising names on the list of released superstars, being a 16 year veteran and a company guy through and through. Slater was given a lot of credit backstage for being a guy that would be happy to put over anyone and make them look good in the process.

WWE proved that Heath can be a dependable babyface when he was given the Tag title run with Rhyno in 2016. Slater’s fanbase are vocal and will follow him to the death, which can only mean that they’ll also be tuning into AEW: Dynamite to see how their boy gets on amongst that stacked roster.

Heath Slater’s an entertaining performer that shouldn’t be slept on by any means, a successful run as a singles star in AEW could easily prove that to the last few doubters.

 

3. Erick Rowan

A former Tag champion, perennial henchmen and occasional arachnid aficionado, Erick Rowan had quite the career in WWE up to his untimely release. Rowan might not be the most assuming of decent wrestlers, but he could certainly go when paired with someone that could match his heavy-hitting style. His best work of course came from his various tag runs alongside Luke Harper, so could we see a revival of The Bludgeon Brothers as part of AEW’s Dark Order?

Rowan might not be the first superstar you’d start booking into the main event scene, but he’s certainly someone with enough star power and experience to build your tag division, or act as a heater to a top heel. Rowan was starting to come into his own when given screen-time, granted the scenarios he was booked into might not have been the most interesting, but Rowan could definitely sell himself as a threat to whoever he stepped into the ring with.

I for one would love to see ‘Big Red’ stare down the likes of Lance Archer and Luchasaurus in the coming months.

 

4. Zack Ryder

The original internet darling has arguably had one of the most significant impacts in professional wrestling of the past decade. If it weren’t for Zack Ryder’s revolutionary YouTube channel, we wouldn’t have seen other indie performers use the platform as a means of getting themselves over. Being the Elite wouldn’t have seen the light of day, meaning AEW might not be here to save these superstars if it weren’t for the home-made efforts of Zack Ryder and his Dad.

If anything, Ryder deserves that one chance to prove that he could main event a wrestling show. It’s forever been one of those strange ‘what if’ booking scenarios, if WWE actually ran with Ryder as a top babyface star, could he have made it? Fans have always been behind Ryder, whether that be out of genuine love for the guy or just because it’s been ingrained in their heads to try and get ‘Long Island Iced Z’ as over as he can possibly be in spite of WWE’s system. It’d be an interesting experiment for AEW to embark on if Ryder was to sign.

No matter Zack’s future on the scene, he’ll forever be appreciated for changing the game.

 

5. EC3

One of WWE’s biggest missed opportunities was that of Ethan Carter III. EC3 arrived on the main roster to a lot of fanfare, fans were ready to see him break out as the main event star he was destined to be, but never quite managed to get off the ground and eventually found himself jobbing to the likes of Titus O’Neil on episodes of Main Event. It’s a real shame to see just how far he fell in such a short space of time.

IMPACT did a great job at building a fresh star in EC3, letting him loose on the mic and showing the world his ability to steal the show inside and outside of in-ring competition. EC3 could have easily taken over as a top heel on either brand, hopefully he’s not too dead in the water to reclaim some of that stature in AEW.

The issue with EC3 coming to AEW would be the obvious clash with fellow ‘Salt of the Earth’ character, MJF. The two run almost parallel to one another, which could create a pretty interesting tandem if they were to be paired in the Tag division, or a bitter rivalry between two entitled egomaniacs.