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The hottest free agents come January 2019 are the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, better known at the Elite.
They've been key pieces in New Japan Pro Wrestling and for the Young Bucks, Ring of Honor as well.
All three have deals with NJPW and ROH that expire once the year turns from 2018 to 2019.
WWE clearly values top wrestlers from other promotions, otherwise they wouldn't have signed AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Bobby Roode, Adam Cole and Ricochet.
WWE has already offered 'main-event money' to the Elite in the past with no success in procuring their talents.
Whatever happens in January, the Elite's decision will have a ripple effect throughout the industry.
The main question is just a matter of how big the ripple will be.If they sign with WWE, it will be huge. If they stay in NJPW/ROH it will be the status quo.If they don't sign with either, it will be historic.
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There are clearly reasons for the Elite both signing with the WWE and not signing with the company.
Should: They have done everything they can in NJPW/ROH
That picture above says a lot.
While Kenny Omega is 'only' in his first reign as IWGP Heavyweight Championship, he's attained the biggest goal in NJPW - winning that title.
While he might want to be the longest-reigning champion or have a record-setting amount of reigns, he would likely have to stay with NJPW for at least another two years to accomplish either feat.
He's elevated himself as the wrestler in NJPW most recognized by those outside of Japan, and he's extremely popular there as well.
He was the first IWGP United States Champion. He's won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title.
He wanted to have a singles' match with his friend, Kota Ibushi and while it wasn't one on one, he did defend the title against both Ibushi and Cody at King of Pro Wrestling.
There really isn't much left for him to do in the company.
As for the Young Bucks, unless they branch out into singles action (which would be foolish), they've accomplished as much as they can in the NJPW Tag Division.
They've won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag titles seven times and the IWGP Tag Team titles once.
They've also held the Never Openweight Six-Man Championships three times, once with Marty Scurll and twice with Omega.
In ROH, they are three-time tag team champs and two-time ROH Six-Man Tag Team champions (once with Cody, once with Adam Page).
They really don't have much else to prove in either promotion, so the next logical progression would be to sign with the biggest pro wrestling company in the world.
Won't : They are afrid how much creative freedom they will/eon't have inside WWE
One thing that may or may not be as important to some wrestlers as money is creative freedom.
Some wrestlers are perfectly fine having a bad gimmick or low post in the pecking order as long as their making the big bucks.
Guys like Cody, the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega clearly value having creative freedom above making mountains upon mountains of money.
The lack of creative input for Cody as Stardust is one of the big reasons he asked for his release from WWE.
Since he's been away from WWE, he's crafted the American Nightmare persona, a play on his father's moniker of the American Dream.
He's primarily been a heel but has had face showings when the Bullet Club broke apart among others.
When Omega came back to NJPW as 'The Cleaner', he was a hilarious, over the top persona but uber-talented butt kicker in the Junior Heavyweight division.
When it was apparent that he was destined for greater things, he cut back on some of his earlier heel tendencies, instead relying more on his mic skills, wrestling ability and endurance.
As a face IWGP Heavyweight Champion, he's been a literal champion for the craft of pro wrestling rather than it being more sports entertainment spectacle.
His long matches are often masterpieces, unlike some of the 20 minute Roman Reigns matches that closed out recent WrestleManias.
The Bucks also had a disappointing run (by their standards) in TNA as Generation Me.
They still had great matches but never really had much of a chance to show personalities.
Their main fear is that they won't be able to continue being the characters they've created that have helped make them so successful both financially and inside the ring.
The WWE does have rules for talents to follow regarding scripted promos and what they can/cannot say.
People like the Elite wouldn't like being told what to do and say, so that might be a huge reason they stay away from WWE.
Should: They want to conquer WWE
One thing the Elite should be looking to do is absolutely take over the WWE from the inside.
It doesn't necessarily mean run down the company itself, but in kayfabe terms.
Wrestling is always at its best when an outside group comes into a promotion with the intentions of completely taking things over.
See the NWO, the Nexus, The Undisputed Era, etc.
Should all three and Cody sign with the WWE, they have a built-in invasion storyline that could carry the company for almost the whole year.
If/when Brock Lesnar (hopefully) drops the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania 35 or beforehand, you could have the entering group target all of the gold.
It would be similar to the NWO only with much more talented wrestlers.
It would be hard to get the fans against the Elite, but it would force a group of guys like Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and a tag team to band together to battle the invaders.
The WCW/ECW Invasion storyline could have been a lot better, but a lot of the big names like Goldberg and Sting held out until their contracts ran out.
The bigger names from WCW involved in the invasion storyline were DDP, Booker T and Buff Bagwell, but they weren't all treated like main-event stars.
The Elite are ONLY main-event superstars and need to be treated as such if signed.
Not only could they 'conquer' the WWE, but they could go after the Bullet Club members that left NJPW for WWE.
They could put AJ Styles, Finn Balor and Gallows and Anderson 'on notice' for leaving them.
The possibilities are endless and the wrestling would be exceptional regardless of opponent.
To truly have the last laugh, capturing all of the top prizes in the WWE would prove that they are indeed the Elite of not only pro wrestling, but the WWE.
Won't: They are perfectly fine with their schedule and the money they make outside WWE
As things currently sit, the Elite have the freedom to pick and choose the dates/shows at which they wrestle.
They primarily are linked to NJPW and ROH, but both also compete at several independent shows like Major League Wrestling, Northeast Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerilla and others.
If signed to WWE, they'd have to wrestle for only WWE, unless it was for a network outreach appearance like the Street Profits and Fabian Aichner recently did for Evolve or Killian Dain and Progress Wrestling.
Apollo Crews also wrestled for Preston City Wrestling while still under employ of WWE.
All of those extra pay checks form different appearances would go away if the Bucks and Omega go to WWE.
The schedules they keep are also a lot more lax than the rigors of a year-round campaign in WWE.
Wrestlers are often away from their families for more than 300 days a year and that can take a toll on everyone.
It was one of the main bullet points in the AJ Styles/Samoa Joe feud.
The funny thing was that there was truth to the statement as AJ is asking for a more limited schedule in negotiating a new contract so that he can spend more time with his family.
Nick and Matt Jackson are both family men so they won't like being away from their families for that long - unless the money is too good to pass up.
NJPW and ROH have allowed the Elite to compete in several events outside of their respective umbrellas, including Chris Jericho's first-ever Rock N Wrestling Cruise.
They might already be away from their families for numerous weeks at a time and maybe that wouldn't bother them as much.
If it's nothing close to 300 days on the road, they might not sign with WWE.
Should: They will be left with a lot of 'What Ifs' if they don't
If you follow pro wrestling outside of the actual wrestling shows/promotions, then you know that the New Day and the Elite are also friends outside of their respective promotions.
They often game together and frequently interact with each other through social media.
Since they are already close friends and have similar interests, it wouldn't be hard to envision the two groups having one hell of a feud.
It could sell a PPV or several. It could involve titles or no belts. Just the thought of the two factions going at it would be salivating in and of itself.
And that's just one feud.
If they decline signing with WWE, they'll be missing out on feuds with guys like the Usos, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream, etc.
While they have faced guys like Gargano and Cole before, they haven't done so under the WWE umbrella.
And the WWE storytelling has proven to be far better than it was for guys like Samoa Joe, Styles and Bobby Roode in TNA.
Yeah, all guys were TNA World Champs at one point, but WWE has booked all three pretty well initially.
Roode and Joe were both NXT Champions and Styles has had two runs with the WWE Championship. Roode also had a short run with the US Title.
Yes, it can be hard to trust the booking from the outside looking in, but the Elite is the Elite, not Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas.
The potential matches and feuds they could have had in WWE will be left on the table if they never opt to sign with the WWE.
They might be fine with that, but a lot of fans will be disappointed.
The fans may not be the first thing all wrestlers think about when they make career decisions, but the successful ones wouldn't have gone as far as they have without the fans.
Also, think about the potential of the Shield vs. the Elite or the Wyatt Family vs. the Elite.
Won't: They might be starting their own promotion to compete with WWE/Other promotions
As most wrestling fans have heard over the last week, a group based in Florida has filed the trademarks for 'All Out', 'All Elite Wrestling,' 'AEW Double or Nothing," "All Out," and "Tuesday Night Dynamite."
If the rumors and signs pointing to the formation of a new promotion are all true, then the Elite certainly will not be signing with the WWE once their current contracts expire.
It will be disappointing not to see the wrestler's in the biggest company in the world, but it's their choice.
They clearly love the business and have become masterminds at marketing themselves outside of a huge company.
They have a highly successful web show (Being the Elite), have a deal with Prowrestlingtees.com and were able to put off the biggest independent show in history with All In.
They clearly are business savvy wrestlers and if they are forming a partnership with the son of the Jacksonville Jaguars, then the money is certainly there for the backing.
Shad Khan recently tried to purchase Wembley Stadium but was unsuccessful. He owns the Jaguars and Fulham FC of the English Premier League.
Guys don't just try to buy a storied stadium like Wembley. They are billionaires who have money that most of us normies cannot even fathom of having.
If they have the backing of that kind of money, forming a new promotion won't be as hard as four wrestlers doing so out of their own pockets.
Also, don't discount that this could be an indirect shot at the reformation of the XFL.
Vince McMahon stated earlier in the year that he's rebooting the promotion in hopes for relaunching it in 2020.
Since Khan has a stake in the NFL, the XFL's main potential competition, what better way to get back at WWE then to form a wrestling promotion with the four top free agents of 2018?
They might be the four top free agents of the last five years if not for Ricochet, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura.
These particular four wrestlers could indeed pull of starting their own promotion as we saw with the success and caliber of wrestlers that performed at All In.
Anyone who is unhappy with their place in WWE could leave or ask for their release with hopes of greener pastures in the blossoming promotion.
The pro wrestling fan will look for the sport anywhere that offers it and does it well. WWE fans may not.
And that's perfectly fine as well. Omega himself said that his wrestling might not be for everyone and that's fine.
What he wants to do is offer any fan a quality match/product outside of the main avenue that it is usually offered. He's grateful to those who watch it and is fine if others do not watch.
I know one thing for certain - If the promotion is launched, I'll be keeping tabs on it.
As WWE and WCW proved during the Monday Night Wars - competition is good for pro wrestling.
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