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With NXT discussing a diplomatic withdrawal from Wednesday nights, it seems the curtains are set to be drawn on the Wednesday Night Wars between WWE and AEW. The AEW camp clearly happier of the two.
While everyone is interested to see where the promotion goes from here, there have been interesting instances in the past where prominent WWE Superstars who have almost jumped ship over to AEW.
Dave Meltzer recently revealed an important tidbit on Wrestling Observer Radio :
"Roman Reigns is not going to AEW, not happening. Virtually everyone in WWE, including guys who have claimed different, at one point or another have called up people in AEW trying to see what they can get, or have had interest. But Roman Reigns, and there's a couple of others, but Roman Reigns was basically, of the top guys, he was the only one who never even enquired. So he ain't going anywhere."
Now that quote has serious implications. While it is not easy for most WWE Superstars to openly voice their desire to work with All Elite Wrestling, some major stars actually have the influence to leverage it.
Rusev (Miro), The Revival (FTR), and Zack Ryder (Matt Cardona) have found a new home in AEW following their WWE releases. Almost all of these wrestlers felt underutilized and forgotten in WWE, but found a new lease of life on AEW. It would not be surprising to see more athletes transitioning in the future.
In this article, we look at 5 big names of the WWE roster who were inches away from being featured on AEW Dynamite:
#5 Randy Orton: WWE's apex predator
Randy Orton, a third-generation WWE Superstar, a 13-time world champion almost became a part of AEW? Sounds surreal, but it was perhaps the most blatantly teased move.
On October 21st, 2019, Randy Orton himself took to Instagram to post a picture with an elevator placard reading ‘Elite Level’ with the caption:
What made the move to AEW plausible was that Orton’s contract with WWE was set to expire and negotiations were rumoured to not be going ideally. Cody Rhodes, someone who has a close history with Orton, being the lead advocator for AEW, made Orton's move just that much more believable.
Many feel that this was a ploy by The Viper to gain leverage in his contract re-negotiations within WWE, which he ultimately renewed.
While many fans felt short-changed, they always knew Randy Orton leaving WWE was near impossible. This is yet another example proving that Randy Orton is in that tiny pool of prominent WWE wrestlers who can get away (get rewarded even) for doing something that would have had any other wrestler face severe implications.
#4 AJ Styles: Making WWE phenomenal
AJ Styles had ideas of going over AEW from WWE right from the debut episode of AEW Dynamite back in October 2019.
This unfortunately did not pan out as AJ Styles reportedly got a very lucrative contract to keep him away from AEW.
AJ Styles' close friends Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were released in April, and he blamed Paul Heyman for laying off the Good Brothers. In a recent video, AJ Styles confirmed the rumours on his recent Twitch stream where he revealed the following:
"Yeah, there were talks. Look, it's a business. My contract in WWE was going to expire, and there were talks happening.The Bucks are my buddies. We never discussed money or anything, but there were talks about coming in. Again, it's all business." (H/t WrestlingInc)
While AJ Styles does sound somewhat disgruntled, it is unlikely that he will be making the jump to AEW. He recently revealed that the current contract will most likely be his last, after which he desires to take up more of a ‘Talent Scouting’ role for WWE.
#3 John Morrison: Considered choosing AEW over WWE?
The high-flying and charismatic John Morrison made his much-anticipated return to WWE on January 4th, 2020. Released back in 2011, John Morrison is a part of a small group of wrestlers (along with Drew McIntyre) who honed their skillset on the indie scene after they left WWE and were then re-signed by the company. It is interesting to note though that John Morrison contacted not only WWE but also AEW when he became a free agent.
John Morrison made his presence felt on multiple wrestling promotions including Lucha Underground and IMPACT, and was a huge draw in both promotions. After his stint with IMPACT ended, John Morrison was finally a free agent. While John Morrison ultimately signed with WWE, he revealed in an interview with Chris Van Vliet that he indeed had AEW as an alternative.
While it is unclear as to which stage the talks with AEW had reached, John Morrison said it took one positive phone call with Vince McMahon to convince him to head back to WWE.
"I talked to WWE and I talked to AEW. And... um... I had a really good conversation with Vince (McMahon) and they made me a really nice offer and I ended up taking it."
While John Morrison has made himself right at home in WWE and working in a tag team with The Miz, he undoubtedly would have been a huge acquisition for AEW had he chosen to go to the new promotion.
#2 Rey Mysterio: Continues his legacy in WWE
Rey Mysterio, a WWE legend, also almost found his way to AEW. He continued to wrestle for WWE even after his contract expired and also turned down a huge money deal from AEW. Like the upstanding good-guy he is on screen, Rey Mysterio did not stay in WWE for a better contract or perks, but mainly for the genesis of his son Dominik’s career.
Rey Mysterio’s career has not been limited to WWE. He has found success around the world including NJPW and Lucha Underground before returning to WWE. This means that there would be no lack of interest to recruit him should he choose to leave WWE.
Dave Meltzer revealed that Rey Mysterio’s WWE contract (which he signed back in September 2018) had expired, but he still stuck around to support his son’s entry into the wrestling industry. Mysterio turning down the lucrative offer from AEW apparently has earned him immense goodwill from the WWE management.
While he has reason to stick around now, once Dominik Mysterio establishes himself (which judging by his talent is only a matter of time), Rey Mysterio might just be tempted to give AEW a try.
#1 Edge: WWE's Rated-R superstar
![Rated R superstar returns home [PC: Medium.com]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2020/09/5e8d3-16005091294270-800.jpg)
Easily the biggest comeback story of 2020 is that of WWE Hall of Famer, Edge. Edge hung up his wrestling boots in April 2011 after several neck injuries forced him into an early retirement from WWE.
The only person who seemed more emotional than the WWE fans during his surprise return at 2020’s Royal Rumble was Edge himself. As he surveyed the crowd with the eerily fitting lyrics of his theme song ‘Metalingus’ played in the background, there was not one dry eye left in the stadium.
But the story leading to the return is quite intriguing in itself. It was all set in motion on Summerslam 2019’s pre-show where Edge delivered a devastating spear to Elias. The spear opened the door to his return. One of the parties interested happened to be AEW.
In WWE’s Documentary “WWE 24: The Second Mountain”, Edge mentioned that another wrestling promotion had approached him. Dave Meltzer later revealed that Edge was indeed referring to AEW who offered him an incredibly lucrative contract. When Edge informed Vince McMahon of this, the WWE Chairman came up with a counter-offer, which AEW could not match.
With Edge having a history with WWE and being such a huge draw, it is difficult to picture him anywhere else. It is nevertheless fascinating to imagine an alternate timeline where Edge and Randy Orton both pulled the gun to make the jump to AEW and have their high-stakes feud play out on Wednesday nights.
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