10 Wrestlers Even AEW Couldn’t Sign

1. The Fiend

Bray Wyatt THE FIEND
WWE

Bray Wyatt's impending WWE comeback has been one of the most buzzworthy storyline developments in the company's recent history, and it borrows from the successful job AEW did with CM Punk's back in 2021.

Well, apart from all the spooky bullsh*t, obviously. But when's that not been a Wyatt qualifier?

In the heady, dreamlike days of an All Elite Wrestling ready to burst forth from the Daily's Place cocoon as pandemic restrictions eased, Punk's name was never dropped but various on-the-nose clues were. Much like's Wyatt's QR codes have paved the way to Extreme Rules 2022, so too did Punk's to a euphoric "First Dance" edition of Rampage last summer. The difference of course, is in the wrestlers themselves.

Punk promised and delivered his fair share of demons and monsters, but at least those were the figurative sorts that had been part of his make-up forever. The mad sh*t Wyatt's offered out over the years goes way, way beyond even the stupidest House Of Black nonsense, and even that felt out of place in AEW. And it always will.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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