10 Wrestlers AEW Has Already Made Better

As Goldust, Dustin Rhodes had effectively been consigned to the scrapheap in WWE. The man underwent intense double knee surgery at 49 years old, after three decades of active competition. He was barely making television before that either, appearing almost exclusively on Main Event, and while he always felt like a great choice for a future player-coach role, it seemed his days in any kind of pro-wrestling spotlight were numbered.

AEW changed everything. It started in the build to Double Or Nothing, with 'The Natural' cutting an awesome promo that successfully reframed him as a beloved veteran favourite out to knock his younger brother back in check. This went the roof at the pay-per-view itself. Dustin bled buckets that night, entering one of his career's gutsiest and emotional performances in what will surely go down as a masterpiece of classic wrestling storytelling, concluding with Cody's "I need my older brother" outpouring.

Wrestling history's most underrated performer is adored in AEW. The pop for his appearance in Dynamite #1's show-closing brawl was so thunderous it may as well have been CM Punk charging down the ramp. This new role as the crowd's sentimental favourite suits him much better than trading meaningless C-show wins with Mojo Rawley.