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Earlier this week, the WWE Universe was hit by monumental news. Former WWE Superstar, and one of the largest athletes to ever enter the wrestling ring, Big Show decided to leave the company and join rival promotion AEW.
While Paul Wight’s (Big Show’s real name) role in AEW is not clear yet, it is expected that the WWE legend will enter the ring to have a few matches before deciding to move to a backstage role.
With Wight’s departure from WWE, the door is now wide open for many other loyal WWE legends to make a change before it’s too late. AEW has managed to pull some big names such as Sting and Wight in recent months, and fans could see some more legends jump ship from WWE to AEW.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five WWE legends who could follow Wight into AEW before retiring from the ring.
#5 Former WWE Champion CM Punk could join AEW
CM Punk did not spend as many years in WWE as many of the other legends on this list. However, Punk had a unique following that helped him become one of the biggest names in the industry. Punk’s golden run in WWE came in the 2010s where he became one of the best World Champions of the decade.
Dubbed “The Best in the World”, Punk has been away from the wrestling ring for some years now. While it seems unlikely that he will return to the ring for WWE, he could decide to join rival promotion AEW at some point.
WWE legend Mark Henry discussed on the Sirius-XM radio program, Busted Open Radio, that Punk would fit perfectly into AEW’s business model and possibly benefit from what they have to offer.
"I think that [All Elite Wrestling] is tailor-made. It’s like, here you go, you wanted a platform, you wanted an equal footing with the marketing and the management, and the ownership, here’s equal footing. You get to have a conversation, and not only do you have the conversation, if you come up with ideas and stuff, you get credit for those ideas. You get more time, and if you deserve to be in the main event, then you deserve to be in the main event regardless of what else is going on. Sometimes you want to be put first, that’s the way it is in business: when you’re at the top of the game, you want to be put first."
Punk could fetch a good contract if he decides to join AEW at some point. His pull-factor can greatly benefit AEW, and he could get back to doing what he loves doing in the ring. Former WCW star Konnan revealed that Punk wanted an 'astronomical amount of money' to join AEW.
“I do remember when you know, I was negotiating with AEW — they were telling me about him. They were telling me that he was asking for like an astronomical amount of money. That they really wanted to work with him.”
If the negotiations do pull through at some point, fans could watch The Best in the World perform on AEW sooner than later.
#4 WWE legend Goldberg could head to AEW for a few matches
Goldberg has continued to prove himself as one of the biggest draws in WWE and the entire industry. The legendary Superstar is known for his quick matches where he usually ends up squashing his opponents.
Former WWE manager Jim Cornette spoke about how AEW President Tony Khan was interested in signed Goldberg to a contract. In late 2020, Cornette revealed that Khan wanted the WWE Hall of Famer to come in and start a new undefeated streak.
“Goldberg was huge on Tony Khan's want list. He wanted Goldberg to come out and do the streak over again. I mentioned how much you think he's gonna charge for a 30-second job match? Probably the same as a main event PPV match.”
AEW President Khan has opened up about his interest in Goldberg a couple of times. Khan talked about the WWE Hall of Famer on the X-Pac 1-2-360 podcast, back in January 2019.
“I have spent some time with Bill, I really like Bill a lot and he’s one of the greatest drawing cards ever in the business, he’s a huge star, a household name … and yeah, if the situation was right, obviously. I haven’t agreed to anything with Bill or anything but I like Bill a lot.”
Just like Big Show, Khan could somehow pull Goldberg to the AEW roster just to get another household name in the company. This could help Khan gain more eyeballs, while Goldberg could benefit from a change of setting and have a few final matches against different opponents.
#3 WWE Hall of Famer Edge could follow Paul Wight to AEW
2020 saw the return of WWE Hall of Famer Edge to the wrestling ring. While an injury had ended the WWE Superstar’s career, he managed to recover enough to give wrestling a final go before retiring on his terms.
Edge made his return at the 2020 Royal Rumble, and there were some speculations that an offer from AEW fueled his return to the ring. Edge himself has spoken about the fact that another company did contact him regarding a return.
"Another company within the industry contacted me and said they were interested and wanted to know if I could wrestle. At this point, I didn’t know if I could... Some discussions were had. The one thing I told them, through all of this, was ‘When you give me your offer, I need to go talk to Vince.’ He’s done right by me my entire career. He gave me my chance."
Edge decided to show his loyalty to WWE and the man who decided to give him his chance, Vince McMahon. However, it’s never-say-never in the wrestling industry, and just like Big Show, Edge could head over to AEW in the coming years for some new opportunities.
AEW had also shown interest in Edge having a backstage role in the promotion, and he could decide to join the company after retiring from WWE.
#2 Chrisitan could decide to ditch WWE for an AEW contract
Edge surprised the WWE Universe with his return to the ring at the 2020 Royal Rumble. His long-time tag team partner and best friend Christian did the same at the 2021 Royal Rumble. Chrisitan’s return to the ring provided a spark to make things more interesting.
Christian has been away from the ring ever since, and AEW star Jon Moxley has shown his interest in having the WWE legend in the company. Moxley has been one of the biggest stars in AEW, and he has helped the company grow rather quickly over the past couple of years.
Speaking to ITRWrestling, Moxley praised Christian and revealed that the WWE legend could enjoy his time in AEW.
"I'll tell you, a guy I'd like to see here is Christian. I don't know if that was a one-off for him in the Royal Rumble but he looked frigging good to me, looked like he was in great shape, he looked sharp, man. I tell you, he's one of the guys that's – the wrestlers know it more so than anybody – Christian is so good. Like, his brain and his execution, and his mind for wrestling is just like next-level."
"The people who work with him know, in the industry, you know, his respect level is huge, the things that he could do with the wrestlers in AEW and all the creative kind of freedom, but, you know, taking things but there's no hindrance on anything creatively here, obviously, we're having a frigging Exploding Death Match, so the things Christian could do at AEW, I would be extremely excited to see that."
Moxley’s words could attract Christian to WWE’s rival promotion in the months to come. While Christian has a few dream matches awaiting him in WWE, he could decide to do something different before finally retiring from the ring.
AEW could provide him with a platform to share his knowledge with the youngsters and work with them to take the company to the next level.
#1 WWE legend Randy Orton could spend several years on the AEW roster
Randy Orton is arguably the biggest name in WWE and the wrestling business today. Orton has done it all and won it all in WWE, and is currently pushing to have some new rivalries in the company.
The Viper has been in WWE for almost two decades now, and he’s only just 40 years old. However, he is still one of the biggest legends the company has ever produced.
Last year, Orton cooked up a storm on social media by teasing that he’s joining AEW. While the same did not happen, The Viper did manage to bring AEW some more spotlight at a time when it was trying to grow.
Mark Henry discussed this during a conversation on Busted Open Radio and told the audience that Orton is a good businessman who will likely keep his options open.
“He’s always been a good businessman. He’s always, you know took the backseat when he should have said, ‘Hey guys, I’m not doing that.’ He’s always been a good businessman. So why wouldn’t he be a good businessman and say, ‘You know what? I need to entertain this conversation.”
“It’s not about the money, it’s about creative control. I think that it would be more creative control and time off with Randy.”
Orton has faced almost every wrestler on the WWE main roster, and will likely win the most number of WWE World Championships soon. After that, The Viper could decide to move to AEW for some time to help the company grow more and also work with several different wrestlers.
