What If... Tony Khan NEVER Launched AEW

AEW's creation thanks to the combination and work of Tony Khan, The Elite, Chris Jericho, Brandi Rhodes and more didn't just provide fans with an alternative; it did the same thing for many a talented wrestler, too.

So, if said different option was never funded by the Khan family in the first place, it's not too hard to imagine a scenario where many a WWE to AEW jumper stayed put in the former for a little while longer. Or possibly even for the remainder of their careers.

With no Land of All Elite, maybe Danielson sticks around in WWE for a couple more years, and the Sports Entertainment organisation eventually find a way to give him his bloody Japanese dreams by striking up a working relationship with NJPW.

Edge wouldn't have had his head turned by the Elite freedom he saw going down in TK's playground.

Perhaps Saraya makes her own shocking return from a career-ending injury inside of a WWE ring instead.

Jericho possibly would have continued to not appear on any US shows outside of WWE out of respect for his former boss and workplace, something the star famously noted back before AEW was launched.

'The Best in the World's wrestling comeback wouldn't have been an Elite one either. CM Punk himself noted recently how close he was to re-signing with WWE around 2019/20, and without genuine competition for his signature, a WWE return would surely have been a matter of time - especially with 'Voice of the Voiceless' fan Nick Khan in a position of power.

What about those lads who put the "Elite" in AEW? Well, The Young Bucks have gone on record to note that WWE was seemingly their own, and Kenny Omega's, next destination in the time just before Khan decided to offer them a different direction.

Would they have been given that freedom to be the generational performers that had captured the imaginations of fans all over the globe? Or would Kenny and the Bucks have just joined the pile of other world class workers chewed up and spat out by the soulless WWE machine? Depressingly, it likely would have been the latter.

AEW also offered some of the brightest young talents on the planet a different environment to hone their craft, meaning your Britt Bakers, Jungle Boys, Sammy Guevaras, Darby Allins, and MJFs didn't end up being forced to become overly polished Sports Entertainers after being cycled through the Performance Center/NXT system for a few years.

That same Allin who'd create constant car crash history alongside the Stinger on AEW programming? He's probably lifting the WWE Speed Championship in an anything but Elite version of this industry, folks.

Being able to potentially offer their services to a genuine rival has also led to stars all over the business earning the massive paydays they've always deserved, too, giving talents greater leverage than they would have had in an Elite-less situation where WWE's monopoly continued.

And speaking of deals, maybe Khan would have got himself involved in a different one in that alternative universe...