8 AEW Nightmares That Could Come True In 2026

5. Even Major Incomings Don’t Move The Needle

Bagging top stars like Adam Copeland/Edge and the like hasn’t actually had a hugely positive impact on AEW. This is akin to ye olden times when TNA hoovered up ex-WWE names. They could bring in everybody from Kurt Angle to Mick Foley and Jeff Hardy, but business largely stayed the same. Clearly, AEW operates differently to the way TNA’s old Impact Zone did (they didn’t directly sell tickets for tapings), but that’s even more worrying.

Nobody seems to shift huge volumes of tickets or pop big numbers on TV. Not Copeland, not Mercedes Mone, and not anyone else who jets in from the market leader. Wrestling followers are understandably thrilled to see these workers ply their trade elsewhere, and it does feel fresh for a little while, but then the honeymoon period ends and they just feel less-than.

There are rumours that Bayley could be inbound next year. They're exactly that, rumours, but who’s to say her star power wouldn't just diminish within a few months if she showed up on Dynamite? The might of the WWE brand should never be palmed off or ignored. Just look at Bayley's pal Mercedes for proof of that. She doesn't feel like as big of a star as she did when she was headlining WWE pay-per-views as Sasha Banks.

It's a hellish thought for AEW that even signing some of wrestling's biggest names achieves little, but there's evidence of it being true. For example, Copeland would immediately come across as a heavyweight player again if he returned to WWE and started using his Edge name again. That's just the way it is.

This is something Khan should keep in mind when he chucks large volumes of cash at ex-WWE stars.