10 AEW Stars Who Have Gone AWOL
1. Parker Boudreaux
Some fans thought it was a bit much when Tony Khan rushed to sign a veritable wave of ex-NXT talent when the show was actually in decent health.
Individually, Adam Cole, Keith Lee, Samoa Joe, Kyle O'Reilly and Swerve Strickland were all great pick-ups in their own way, and were all tremendous and over before entering the WWE system, but their collective debuts affected the core identity of the promotion. That might scan as tribalistic, but there was something rewarding, during AEW's early days, in watching wrestlers who had not been endorsed by WWE thriving on national television in front of sizeable crowds. It felt defiant, as if AEW's base had been validated in their belief that they knew better than the monopoly's authority. This romantic feeling was lost in 2022.
It was definitely too much when he signed Parker Boudreaux. Why sign somebody who failed to star on the dead brand that was NXT 2.0?
The answer is that Parker enjoys a weirdly massive social media following, boasts a striking look, and as a college football standout is a very decent athlete.
He didn't impress as part of the Trustbusters stable beyond one quite mad spot in which he smashed into someone, tumbled out of the ring and managed to land on his feet.
It felt like yet another impulsive Tony Khan signing, and since Parker has not been sighted since August, he might even agree.