Why One More AEW Signing Would Cause A Wrestling Earthquake

A third signing wouldn't need to be related, in any manner, to Punk or Bryan themselves, and that can be the magic of it.

Though Punk's been gone from WWE for a whopping seven years now, the thirst for him wasn't remotely quenched by his return to wrestling via Fox's shiny floor show Backstage. He's still only 42, too, and will hopefully have healed substantially from a grinding life on the road before his acrimonious departure. Daniel Bryan was in this year's WrestleMania main event, had the best match of the company's miserable Performance Center era, and hadn't shown any signs of winding down. He "fought for his dreams" just to get back to all this, and the "this" in question is probably something much closer to AEW's ethos than WWE's.

The two already bring their own separate histories of failing to force through change within a system that wouldn't budge. This isn't a requirement of yet another huge star becoming #AllElite. As Hogan was with Hall and Nash, the third signing can be a rogue choice in comparison.

Brock Lesnar is a free-as-f*ck agent that absolutely can be bought and would represent that impossible, jaw-dropping quality that came with the mere sight of Hollywood Hogan's jet black beard. Lesnar in AEW is the sort of thought that should make Vince McMahon bolt upright, because there's a good chance some lapsed fans will at the sight of him on TNT. Braun Strowman isn't half as a big a star, but is another name so tied to WWE that it might stop audiences in their tracks when flicking channels. Matt Cardona, once a third tier reason for hope in 2011 alongside Punk and Bryan, hasn't ever been more over with AEW's core than he is right now. There are others - WWE released plenty and AEW's relationship with NJPW is still holding a Forbidden Door wide open.

WWE has billions in the bank and will only make billions more in the content age. CM Punk was wrong about that in 2011, but he nailed just about every other criticism of the company. And now, in this battle fought over perception in the absence of finances any normal person can feel, the landscape is shifting.

Based on encouraging viewerships and demographic statistics for Dynamite in contrast to tumbling numbers for Monday Night Raw, it appears that they may have the industry leader on the ropes. If Punk and Bryan are the right and left in a three-punch combo, a Brock-sized haymaker could be the knockout blow.

If they manage that, the world - as it did in Hulk Hogan's mind when he slammed Andre The Giant - could open up again.