It’s hard not to be excited about All Elite Wrestling. The upstart promotion has lured away some of the biggest names in professional wrestling. Despite not putting on a single event, they already have top names such as Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, and The Young Bucks. While top heavy, what does their entire roster look like? Will they have enough talent to put on compelling shows? That remains to be seen, but there’s enough concrete information to get a feel for it.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the All Elite Wrestling roster they have officially announced so far. Anyone that has been rumored to have signed, but not made official, is not on the list.
Chris Jericho
Clearly the biggest signee at the moment in terms of star power, Jericho will be one of the promotion’s marquee talents. The main event scene, at least early on, will be built around his programs. While some might see it as a promotion leveraging an aging star, Jericho has proved that he can still go at a high level in-ring and is still one of the most brilliant characters in all of wrestling. He deserves the spotlight and is a huge get for All Elite Wrestling.
Cody Rhodes
Rhodes is a question mark at the moment since he’s been dealing with several nagging injuries, but he’ll prove quite the capable hand for the company once he heals up. I’m not sure he should be a constant player in the main event scene, but he can certainly play the part when needed as his NWA and NJPW stints proved.
The Young Bucks
As far as the tag team division goes, few are as talented as The Young Bucks. Expect them to stay in the main event scene for the foreseeable future. It’s less that AEW has to worry about the Bucks and more that they have to be able to provide interesting feuds and opponents that fans haven’t seen dozens of times before (which was an issue in Ring of Honor).
SoCal Uncensored
Comprised of Scorpio Sky, Christopher Daniels, and Frankie Kazarian, SoCal Uncensored includes three versatile veterans that can do fantastic work as a team or carry solo feuds if necessary. Daniels, a former Ring of Honor World Champion, is perhaps the most capable singles star of the bunch and could create some great programs with both other veterans and newcomers to the promotion.
CIMA and The Strong Hearts (OWE)
During the rally, The Young Bucks revealed that they have a deal with China’s Oriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE) in place. Confirmed to be working with All Elite Wrestling are the company’s president and former Dragon Gate champion CIMA and their young tag team, The Strong Hearts (El Lindaman, Takehiro Yamamura, and T-Hawk). CIMA is quite the talent and has worked internationally, while The Strong Hearts are more of an unknown to North American audiences. It will certainly be interested to see how they do, but they seem to be on the lower side of the roster at the moment.
Britt Baker
All Elite Wrestling’s women’s division is currently the biggest question mark for the promotion. WWE has a tremendous amount of women currently signed, and the rest are currently segmented between various promotions such as IMPACT Wrestling, Stardom, and SHIMMER. Unless AEW partners with some existing promotions, I don’t see them really having someone to build the division around. However, that isn’t to discredit their top signing in Britt Baker. She’s quite the talented wrestler in her own right and should be placed near the top of the card. It’s more of a question of who is she going to feud with that will garner interest? So far, it’s a total unknown.
MJF
While not extremely well known, MJF is one of the better signings from the company. This cocky heel is fantastic on the mic and plays the character archetype just as well as The Miz or EC3. He will only improve in the future, so don’t be surprised if he eventually becomes a main event player. For now, though, he’ll be an entertaining part of the mid-card.
Hangman Page
If anyone had a breakout 2018 it was Hangman Page. The talented wrestler came into his own as a wrestler as part of The Elite. I expect the momentum to continue and see Page as a world title contender for the company. Page could become one of the first stars truly made in AEW rather than in outside promotions.
Brandi Rhodes
Brandi Rhodes’ greatest contribution to All Elite Wrestling will come from behind the scenes, but she’s also set to be an on-screen performer. She’ll likely continue accompanying her husband as his manager, but can also wrestle other women when necessary. From my point-of-view, she should be used to highlight big feuds and put other women over rather than be a constant presence in the division due to her high-profile status.
Joey Janela & Penelope Ford
Signing the “Bad Boy” was quite the move by All Elite Wrestling. He’s become one of the independent scene’s biggest stars over the past year. More surprising is that he was accompanied by Penelope Ford, his former real-life girlfriend and current manager. Both are great talents in the ring and have plenty of personality. Ford can be one of the most versatile performers for AEW as she can help Janela out during his feuds while also working in the women’s division as well. She shouldn’t be limited to just one.
PAC
Clearly the biggest outside name that was signed beyond Jericho. The former WWE and NXT champion is a true talent and will be able to put on some phenomenal matches. He should be feuding for the promotion’s top belt and that appears to be where they are headed by pairing him with Hangman Page.
Billy Gunn (Producer)
Although signed as producer, don’t be surprised if the former WWE star wrestles occasionally. He’s certainly among the biggest names on the roster in terms of sheer popularity and has proven he can still go by putting on some entertaining (if limited) matches against wrestlers like Hiroshi Tanahashi. If used wisely and in select occasions, Gunn could make a few appearances feel like a truly big deal.
