10 Wrestlers Who Have Changed The Most Since AEW Launched
In pro wrestling, change is the only constant - featuring Chris Jericho, Jungle Boy, and more!
AEW has changed the wrestling landscape in the West. It has presented a genuine alternative to WWE, given creative control to some of wrestling's best and brightest, opened "the forbidden door", and even brought back CM Punk. While it's not the World War II of the Monday Night Wars, competition is good to challenge the WWE monolith. Yet, the winners of AEW vs. WWE are wrestling fans, who currently have more content than they can comfortably consume.
AEW has inspired change, but also since 2019 it has changed itself. Rewatching the promotion's Double or Nothing 2019 debut following the recent All Out 2021 pay-per-view shows a company that has evolved.
Early AEW had an emphasis on using The Elite's star power to attract the optimum amount of viewers, alongside bringing Japanese talent stateside. The latter unfortunately was severely impacted by the pandemic restrictions.
AEW today has a solid mix of homegrown stars, repurposed names most associated with WWE, and just the right amount of emphasis on the promotion's in-ring Executive Vice Presidents. However, some of the biggest changes have been in the individuals who call AEW home.
10. QT Marshall
QT Marshall began AEW as a background hanger-on of the Rhodes Family, building on his real-life professional partnership with Cody. The two, along with Glacier, are co-owners and trainers of The Nightmare Factory wrestling school. While skilled in the ring, Marshall never really wowed, and was often used when a member of the Rhodes-led Nightmare Factory stable had to eat defeat to build up a rival or opposing stable.
QT's stock was boosted when he was booked in a kayfabe relationship with Allie, but she soon betrayed him, returning to The Butcher and (real-life husband) The Blade. This left QT looking like a loser and backpedalling to an indefinable stooge. A heel turn was the best way to counteract this, yet, though he benefited from the TV exposure that came with feuding with Cody, he would ultimately come out of it with two major singles losses at Blood & Guts (22 April 2021) and Road Rager (7 July 2021).
Thankfully, the wrestling gods dictate that a heel jobber is better than their face counterparts. And Marshall is a serviceable heel for babyfaces to overcome, particularly on Dark and Elevation. Plus, no-one foresaw QT being the man in the other corner during Paul "Big Show' Wight's AEW debut match.