10 Wrestlers AEW Stole From Under WWE's Nose

1. The Elite

Jamie Hayter
WWE/AEW

Were Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Cody Rhodes possibly going to go to WWE before All Elite Wrestling even formed?

Probably not, but the company tried as hard as they ever had to make the move happen, possibly with some knowledge that they were stopping the formation of a competitor as well as hiring some top talents?

As Nick Jackson himself put it in "Killing The Business";

"It was a three-year deal worth millions, for each of us. On top of that, we were also given the option of signing, and if we weren't satisfied with how things were going we'd be given a special clause in our contracts that would allow us to leave the company in three months no questions asked. He also inquired about making a deal to put All In on the WWE Network...we never asked for more money or more perks...WWE seemed extremely interested in having us on their team - or were these attempts at stopping a movement before it really got started?"

In the end, it all wasn't enough - the group followed their plans all the way through, but the deal remains relatively unprecedented several years later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett