12 Signings That Changed The Wrestling World
7. The Elite & Chris Jericho (To AEW)
As Cody Rhodes would go out of his way to note during a recent appearance on the MMA Hour, along with his wife Brandi Rhodes, Tony Khan, Bernie Cahill, and Dana Massie, if any one of The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho or himself had not been a part of AEW at the start-up level, the company would not exist today.
Cody Rhodes talks about his time with AEW, disagreeing with CM Punk's "assessment."
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Focusing strictly on the wrestling talent who penned deals to become the first fully All Elite performers in early 2019, though, having 'Le Champion' act as AEW World Champion in those early days certainly helped bring more casual eyes to the fledgling product.
The epic Elite saga involving Matt & Nick Jackson, Omega, and Hangman Page would then go on to become one of the most riveting and refreshing long-term storylines ever to land on screens, with fans lapping up every glorious detail they were offered week-to-week before their cowboy finally took home the big belt.
And Rhodes' Nightmare brand he'd been smartly building on the independent scene also continued to grow as that time as a top All Elite guy eventually prepared him for a WWE return that would help drive that company to their hottest era in years (more on that later).
That's all without even mentioning the many talented workers The Elite helped get jobs in their fresh alternative, too, with stars like MJF, Orange Cassidy and more possibly not showing up on Dynamite were it not for the Bucks and Rhodes in particular.
In short, this lot signing with AEW changed the business forever.