10 AEW Wrestlers That Are Permanently Lost
For when AEW isn't quite ALL elite...
In defence of All Elite Wrestling, the task of identifying wrestlers past the point of no return on the roster is a slightly tougher one than when assembling WWE's own version.
At any given time on a Raw or a SmackDown, the audience of one can lose interest in a performer regardless of how well that wrestler is going down with the crowd in the building, and their cards are marked. Vince McMahon deciding on the fate of everybody and everything has proven destructive countless times over and it's never going to change. This much we know. That's thankfully not yet the same on the other side.
Tony Khan has previously rewarded popular performers with extended pushes, even if they haven't first appeared in his plans. This creates a positive but competitive atmosphere akin to the meritocracy every dynamic roster should have. That AEW have balanced this in the last three years is genuinely impressive, though the quest for perfection is constantly worth pursuing. More wrestlers than not have purpose and direction on Wednesday and Friday nights.
All of that's not to say times aren't looking tough for these ten...
10. Proud & Powerful
As maddening as it is redundant at this point, Proud & Powerful's failure to ascend beyond the exact level they were at when AEW launched in 2019 borders on promotional malpractice.
Ortiz & Santana were arguably the hottest tag team in all of wrestling when they jumped on board with All Elite Wrestling, and an entry feud with The Young Bucks signposted as much. Fresh off a celebrated run in Impact Wrestling, the duo were seen to be taking their rightful place in the big time, and an unlikely pairing with Chris Jericho on the debut edition of Dynamite furthered the narrative.
Regrettably, it's subjectively and objectively stalled. Regardless of the moments they've been permitted to shine, there's simply not been enough of them. With overall records of 44-26 and 42-25 respectively, the pair have ran the hard yards but have very little to show for it.
Zero tag team title reigns and only one straight tag match on pay-per-view in three years simply offset by the various stable wars, multi-man matches and the like. Not least when their programmes have felt pushed into the background for whomever they've seconded. Amidst loud rumours of a legitimate rift and Santana's impending injury layoff, they may have already graduated from "lost" to AEW's biggest missed opportunity.