Why Tony Khan's AEW Nightmare Could Come True In January

Upon its launch, AEW was painted as an alternative to WWE. For fans and for talent, this was the ideal destination for those looking to avoid the nefarious, no-good ways of the Vince McMahon-led market leader. And truthfully, that was indeed the case for a good while.

From its inception, All Elite Wrestling immediately had a boost in credibility, in turn impacting perception, by having white-hot names like Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks very publicly choose to join this start-up in favour of being swayed by the money and mainstream platform of WWE. Added to that, a disgruntled Jon Moxley soon decided that AEW would be the perfect place for him to shake the shackles of that WWE environment and get the sour taste out of his mouth.

For anyone in doubt, the signing of such names indicated to the wrestling world that AEW was the place to be, and was viewed by some of the biggest stars in the industry as being a preferable option to a WWE who had essentially monopolised the industry for nearly 20 years.

Even with the recent announcement that Will Ospreay will be joining AEW in 2024 once his New Japan Pro-Wrestling deal is up, that was another example of one of the best wrestlers in the world showing his hand and proclaiming AEW as the place he sees best suited for his future - particularly with the Aerial Assassin having reportedly chosen AEW over WWE.