On May 2nd, WWE released 14 wrestlers (find the full list here). Every mass release results in a spectrum of fan feelings and thoughts flooding social media. Likewise, many varied and passionate discussions about where they should go next occur.
Some speculate and write fantasy books. Willing into existence that their chosen ones will find success elsewhere. Others joke and mock. Asserting their and their tribe’s expectations on specific wrestlers, WWE, and the other wrestling companies that could sign them.
Often, fans and pundits oversimplify and ignore that this is about real people, not just characters in a story or pieces in a grander competition between companies. There’s the human element. These released wrestlers are real people with autonomy. They have choices to make.
Matt Cardona gave those released wrestlers three options: fade, coast, or reinvent. At the same time, it’s not just the wrestlers who have options. The other wrestling companies, within and outside of WWE’s sphere of influence, have decisions to make.
Mass releases can impact the wider wrestling environment. They can change lives, perceptions, promotions, and history.
In many ways, AEW, depending on your preferences/biases, is either just getting over or remains damaged from “fumbling” former WWE wrestlers in 2021. I’ve done a fuller analysis that considers all the varied factors, which we, as optimistic fans, did not always consider here. However, perceptions might be slowly changing, and AEW has the power to capitalize.
Lessons from 2021
Once, AEW’s hubris and greed in signing too many wrestlers copied a historic WWE error. It contributed to roster bloat and creative stagnation. It also included failing some fans’ expectations.
Expecting misused wrestlers, like Aleister Black and Rusev, to get their “deserved” pushes, world champion or top contender runs, was unrealistic. It was often fantasy booking, created in a vacuum that ignored the existing AEW environment.
WWE now risks this mistake. I’ve discussed before Rusev’s return (here) how high, unchecked expectations that The Bulgarian Brute will get pushed to the moon may fall short. If so, WWE’s failure to fulfill that promise will be another sign of WWE’s creative decline. Mirroring a sense of letdown that impacted AEW.
In the short term, WWE has burned down some detractors’ straw man arguments about AEW’s creative inabilities especially when several WWE returnees have copied their AEW work.
Aesthetically, Andrade is still his AEW character. Black re-debuted by copying and pasting his AEW debut with The Miz instead of Cody Rhodes. Rusev’s bringing The Redeemer with him from “the abyss,” suggesting AEW isn’t the characterless, creative money pit it’s been painted as. This wasn’t the perception change I envisioned with Rusev’s return.
In 2025, AEW creative is turning around, and part of that is the release of those wrestlers who did not want to be All Elite. AEW has, it seems, learned from its history. To be clear, these 2025 releases are not comparable to those from 2021. Yet if AEW sees value in a few of them, here are some key things the company should consider, including one very radical idea.
1.) Let Releases Acclimatize
If AEW had its eyes on some wrestlers, either long-term prospects or to fill gaps, it would help everyone involved if AEW gave it time. As discussed, with the inherent issues of transitioning from WWE to AEW, it can take time for some wrestlers to adjust.
Ironically, WWE fans talk about indy wrestlers adjusting and learning the “big league” style. Some fans never consider that the same is true the other way around. The WWE style is not universal. It doesn’t mesh with different genres of wrestling outside of its universe.
Often in AEW, the WWE approach exposes wrestlers and their characters in and out of the ring. Consider how many former WWE wrestlers had a bumpy, sometimes rough start in AEW, either as characters and/or in the ring. Ricochet, Samoa Joe, Athena, and Toni Storm before she became Timeless. Mercedes Mone failed to gel straight away in 2024, although few haters are willing to acknowledge that might have been because she was playing a WWE archetype.
If AEW wants Elayna Black or Dakota Kai, giving them a chance to recalibrate and find a new version of themselves helps everyone, including those AEW wrestlers currently in the spotlight performing at that expected level.
New signees, like Josh Alexander, Kevin Knight, and Speedball Mike Bailey, have excelled partly because they’re already acclimatized to the style and grind of AEW. Also, it will likely separate the wheat from the chaff. Determine who might be best suited for AEW or if they are better suited for another promotion.
2.) Be selective and Plan Carefully
2025 has seen Tony Khan be more selective with hiring. Risking roster bloat would only make the shade thrown by Nick Khan about benching wrestlers truer. New signings should be tactical and fill gaps.
AEW needs to have long-term plans for wrestlers beyond fan fulfilment or a momentary pop for a cool moment. Shayna Baszler becoming a foil to face Death Rider’s Marina Shafir looks good on a visual and out of context. What about Willow Nightingale? What happens after that moment? Any new additions could change the ecosystem and will also have expectations of where their run will lead.
If Baszler came in, along with other released WWE women’s wrestlers to say, fill the ranks for an AEW Women’s Tag team Championship division, and the women’s spotlighting issue is resolved, then maybe.
With strong talent already in the locker room, new arrivals from elsewhere need to fit in. Any new wrestler will need to understand their role. For example, Tony Nese was one of AEW’s most overlooked signings. Nese excels in his role in AEW and ROH as an entertaining jobber who elevates others. Clear long-term plans would also be ideal. Plus, like Swerve Strickland, there’s always room to move upwards.
3.) Foster an Alternative Environment
In 2021, AEW positioned itself as a saviour of wrestling. “The good guys” contrasted with WWE creatively and in business. Yet, signing too many wrestlers and failing to achieve high expectations dented AEW’s early utopia mythos.
At present, AEW is emphasising its differences. See AEW’s commercials highlighting the differences in ticket prices. With WWE acquiring AAA and various worst-case scenarios at the forefront of some fans’ minds, AEW could appear like “the good guys” with one radical differentiated step.
AEW once presented itself as a gatekeeper/guardian of the wrestling world beyond WWE. Instead, why not act as a gardener? Narratively, WWE is collecting its partnership companies. In my best-case scenarios for WWE acquiring AAA, I discussed that a positive outcome could be AEW strengthening its ties with partnership promotions and the indies.
Altruistically, if AEW helped those willing and suitable released wrestlers gain work and opportunities with its partners, it would generate more than goodwill. Fostering a supportive and healthy environment strengthens the industry. Helping direct wrestlers to promotions where they could fill gaps, reinvent themselves, and help rebuild/develop a promotion benefits everyone.
Looking out for everyone and not just itself in the long term could contribute to a return to a similar territory-style system, like the heydays of the NWA. One that creates a talent pipeline for AEW and former WWE employees to continue to make a living wrestling.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on AEW Dynamite Preview and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
