5 free agents that could debut on AEW Dynamite tonight - Former WWE Universal Champion; top indie tag-team

It's Wednesday night, and you know what that means. AEW Dynamite tonight promises a stacked card including the long-awaited CM Punk vs MJF grudge match, a title defense, and an in-ring debut.

Brody King continues his path of destruction tonight as part of the House of Black tandem with Malakai Black. There's also the AEW debut of Brian Kendrick, who recently departed WWE. Kendrick will stand opposite former world champion Jon Moxley on the Purveyor of Violence's return tour.

But nothing pops the fans quite as efficiently as an unannounced arrival. You can look no further than to last week's appearance of Danhausen for evidence of a surprise debut capturing its audience.

So what could Tony Khan and AEW have up their sleeve tonight? Fans are hungry for shocking moments in wrestling, and even with an already stacked card, the hope will always be for more. Let's take a look at five possible stars who could rear their heads tonight on Dynamite.

#5. The Briscoes

Much like Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a clash between former AEW tag champs FTR and former GCW tag champs the Briscoes seems inevitable. The two teams have been going at each other consistently on social media, with the Briscoes even going so far as to tag Tony Khan in some of their retorts.

FTR's aspiration to reign atop tag team wrestling has seen them face such opponents as WWE Hall of Famers the Rock N Roll Express. It serves as no surprise that they would look to challenge one of the best tag teams circulating the waters outside the major promotions of North America.

The Briscoes have been linked with AEW since the end of last year, and would prove to be top additions to an already stacked division of megastars and homegrown prospects.

#4. The Fiend

It has to be said that AEW have done a fantastic job filling their roster with top talent able to fill many diverse roles on the card. While megastars like Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley have been scooped up by Tony Khan, we have also seen comedic characters such as Danhausen and lore-centric characters such as Malakai Black join the fold.

The Fiend, or indeed any of the characters born of the mind of Windham (FKA Bray Wyatt), could take AEW into completely new territory. Much like the Undertaker captivated audiences for WWE in the 90s, The Fiend could be the creative spark for story-heavy feuds with character specialists such as Kenny Omega, Adam Cole, and the aforementioned Malakai Black.

Windham was released on July 31st 2021 and can make his return to wrestling at any time he desires. With Tony Khan clearly investing in untouched facets of wrestling, the former Wyatt's arrival could dominate the airwaves.

#3. Adam Scherr

One of the more shocking releases from WWE last year was the former Universal Champion Braun Strowman. Despite his pedigree as a talent that has stood opposite the likes of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, we have yet to see him arrive in another top promotion.

The man behind the Monster Among Men, Adam Scherr, has instead made several independent appearances amid his work with Free the Narrative creator EC3. What separates the Titan from other workers in free agency is his stature. Atypical of WWE's preferred recruitment option, he towers over opponents as a monster, the likes of which no other promotion appears to have been able to tame.

The independent wrestling roots of The Elite's brainchild haven't stopped Tony Khan from luring in the castaways from his rivals. Maybe we see Scherr's monstrous arrival tonight?

#2. Johnny Gargano

AEW has served as a primary landing spot for many who have departed NXT during the reshifting of focus WWE imposed on its developmental territory. The likes of Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly were main eventers in the black and gold iteration of NXT before departing the company after their contracts expired. Both now work for the competition.

Perhaps the largest departure of the year for NXT was the beating heart of the black and gold, Johnny Gargano. The Rebel Heart has been a free agent since NXT Wargames, at which he battled the new school of WWE talents in the event's namesake match. Gargano more than fits the billing for a main eventer standing opposite the likes of Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega.

AEW are already bringing in former NXT coach Brian Kendrick tonight to take on Moxley. Maybe they add another WWE deserter to their ranks?

#1. Keith Lee

Perhaps one of the largest headscratchers last year was the creative mishandling of Keith Lee that culminated in his release from the company. As a big man with deceptive agility and incomperable power and pace, Keith Lee felt like a potential main eventer for years to come.

The only man to hold the NXT and NXT North American titles simultaneously legitimately stood toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns at Survivor Series 2019. In the 2020 Royal Rumble, his entrance even popped Brock Lesnar of all people.

Yet his arrival to Raw felt directionless, and severe changes to the formula that had worked for so long effectively hollowed out the Limitless One. Now free of WWE's micromanaged creative process and the Bearcat gimmick that encapsulated his torrid main roster career, Keith Lee might get another shot at greatness with AEW, possibly starting tonight.