10 Wrestlers Even AEW Couldn’t Sign

7. Kevin Owens

Fiend Tony Khan
WWE.com

At the end of 2021, Kevin Owens tweeted coordinates to Mount Rushmore, teasing out a possibility that he might reunite with his PWG Rushmore stablemates The Young Bucks and Adam Cole in All Elite Wrestling. Coming at the height of the spate of talent jumps almost entirely in one direction around the time, a move felt inevitable.

Then, unexpectedly, he re-signed.

Beyond folk who were oddly emotionally invested in Owens' bank balance, nobody particularly toasted the decision. Approximately 10 months later and it's proven to be one of the best he's made. A WrestleMania main event with Stone Cold Steve Austin looked from the outside to have been the biggest hook, not least when he pivoted into a midcard-flavoured bit of fun with Ezekiel soon after.

He chose WWE over AEW back then, before Vince McMahon resigned in disgrace and left a space in Gorilla for 'KO' fan Triple H. Assuming that the next few years go as well for Owens as it appears like they may, what could possibly change his mind now?

Speaking of changing minds, where there's an Owens, there's typically been...

 
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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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