10 Wrestlers Who Will NEVER Be All Elite (And Why)

AEW is the arch enemy of WWE (or at least their NXT program), the first real competition they’ve had in years.

Despite a stacked roster (with certain big stars such as Pentagón Jr. and Rey Fénix struggling for air time), rumours have swirled in recent weeks of new arrivals for Wednesday nights. With WWE in the process of some very cruelly timed cuts, a lot of talents are looking for somewhere new to ply their trade. AEW have already expressed interest in a few of these newly available workers, and in key positions, gauging by the praise Jim Ross reserved for Rusev.

Given Tony Khan’s insane wealth, AEW can afford to meet the price of just about anyone they might be interested in. Rumours have swirled of their interest in some of WWE’s biggest stars also, including the likes of Brock Lesnar and Edge along with New Japan favourites such as Kota Ibushi.

For all the teasers, feelers and negotiations going on, there are some wrestlers that would go with AEW as well as orange juice goes with milk.

For a multitude of reasons, all explored here are 10 of 'em,.

“Nope! No on Heath Slater.”

This was Cody Rhodes’ answer to the likelihood of AEW signing up the recently released former Tag Team champ.

A well liked, often very funny undercard act, Slater established a solid connection with WWE fans during the 2016 Draft. Left un-drafted, Slater launched an initially hopeless campaign to get a job. It led to him being decimated by everyone from Jinder Mahal to Rhyno to Brock Lesnar before he and Rhyno joined forces to become the inaugural SmackDown Tag Team champions.

Despite the initial popularity of the act, it was clear Slater still held a rather low ceiling in WWE, often missing lengthy periods of air time in the years after his big moment. On the few occasions WWE granted him some time in the spotlight, he remained fairly over as evidenced from his time as a referee during Baron Corbin’s GM run.

In regards to AEW being so disinterested in a man that cleanly pinned their first ever World champion once upon a time, it is too soon to tell why. The company have already made clear their intentions to hire several recently released workers such as Rusev and Zack Ryder.

Provided Slater gets super jacked and tears up the indies, WWE will likely rehire him and make him a World champ anyway based on the journeys of his old 3MB buddies.