10 Huge Signings WWE Must Make In 2020

WWE needs a set of older, harder bastards...

tessa blanchard
Impact Wrestling

WWE can't just sign anyone.

WWE can't sign Will Ospreay - though you'd expect, with NXT's move to USA, and the preexisting groundwork laid on Twitter, the company would debut him directly on Monday Night RAW in a programme opposite Seth Rollins. The spectacular worker fits Paul Heyman's profile, and is arguably the best talent on the planet.

He is tied to New Japan Pro Wrestling on a long-term deal.

NJPW has reworked its contract negotiation process in recent years, in light of increased competition, and this also rules out a return for Juice Robinson - not that he seems keen to return stateside. Not all Independent talents wish to sign with a major, much less WWE: David Starr loathes WWE's capitalism culture, where reportedly, Timothy Thatcher in effect told Canyon Ceman to kick rocks.

Despite a recent, and very drastic discourse - two slightly wonky hours of AEW Dynamite have somehow become a crisis in this insta-reaction culture - AEW remains in its honeymoon period. It seems unrealistic to expect a subversion of the narrative du jour - i.e. of countless talent wishing to leave WWE for the mainstream upstart - but then, wrestling is inherently wild.

Contracts in pro wrestling are murky - though Fightful's tall scoops whizz Sean Ross Sapp has compiled a running list of imminent expiration dates - and thus, take the following pitches as estimations...

10. Alex Shelly

tessa blanchard
impactwrestling.com

Alex Shelley recently guest coached at the Performance Center, and so he's evidently respected to some extent by those with the sway.

He's still only 36, something obscured by his impressive tenure in the game. It feels like he's been around far longer than that, and it's for that precise reason WWE should sign him for an NXT twilight-years run. NXT has something of a roster complexion issue created by its greedy recruitment process; in a crusade to snap up every available Independent talent, the brand is overloaded with workers operating at their peak, or close to it, which has somewhat marginalised the likes of Isiah 'Swerve' Scott and Trevor Lee. They are new, and so NXT is reluctant to beat them too often. They aren't young or green, either, which might excuse the jobs.

NXT needs a man who can be beaten and still remain over, and this is where Shelly could prove invaluable; he's perceived as a legend of a bygone era, and he can still go. A victory over Shelly would therefore still mean something to a Trevor Lee.

AEW has the raw rookies (Jungle Boy) and the sentimental vets (Dustin Rhodes) for this purpose; Shelly represents NXT's bulletproof scalp.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!