Tony Khan was promoting away and tweeting a bunch during this past week’s AEW Rampage. Next week, on Dynamite, there will be a qualifying match for the next “Face of the Revolution” Ladder match coming up at Revolution. Last year’s rendition was really good and I expect similar things from this years. AEW is starting the intrigue early with the first qualifying match.
According to Tony Khan, a free agent is “walking in the door, signing a contract, and slamming the door shut,” this week. The wrestling world is turning over every stone trying to guess who it could be. Time for Game Over Gimmicks to throw my two cents in! Here’s five possibilities we could be seeing this Wednesday. I will grade them on a scale of 1-5 likelihood of showing up this Wednesday.
Keith Lee
I’ll just get the most obvious one out of the way first. Keith Lee was released from WWE on November 4th and his ‘Non compete’ clause has just expired. This means that he his free to sign with any wrestling company that he wants to. There’s reports out there that him signing with AEW is all but done, but is this the signee Tony Khan was talking about? Could it be that easy?
Probably. AEW does like to swerve our attention in the surprise department while still giving the fans what we want.
Possibility? 4.5/5 Very likely
Juice Robinson
A lesser publicized talent has also not been re-signed with the company they were signed with. Juice Robinson is no longer employed with NJPW and is a free agent. He’s worked with a lot of different companies, but is AEW next on the list?
I assume he’ll pop up in AEW at some point, but I doubt it’s here. He’s not a huge draw to a lot of fans. There is a lot of crossover between the AEW and NJPW audiences, however. Not to mention that Tony Khan is throwing around that ‘Forbidden Door’ term again. That usually means someone from a different company.
Possibility? 3.5/5 Maybe
Killer Kross
Another WWE release was the former Karrion Kross, now (again) Killer Kross. He’s been overshadowed by the Limitless One, but I could absolutely see him popping up in AEW at some point. If he’s still pursuing an American wrestling career, there’s really only one avenue. His Impact exit was as messy as could be and WWE seemingly has zero interest in him. That only leaves AEW, Ring of Honor, or an overseas tour with NJPW. I don’t really know what’s going on with Ring of Honor talent at this point, but would Tony Khan bring in Kross? AEW values locker room personalities highly. They might think Kross isn’t a great fit for their backstage area.
Possibility? 2/5 Unlikely, still possible
Josh Alexander
This next pick is more of a personal pick than an analytical one. I would love Josh Alexander in AEW. And not just because Ethan Page is there. The Walking Weapon has become one of my favorites in the past year. The former North member is now a bigger star than his former counterpart and I NEED to see him go on a tear against AEW stalwarts.
This pick is solely because Tony Khan threw out the ‘Forbidden Door’ term. Like I said previously, that term is usually reserved for other companies sending their members to AEW. Maybe AEW is working with Impact again. Nobody seems to know the status of his contract, which just adds to the possibility.
Possibility? 2.5/5 Unlikely
I’d also substitute any of the big Ring of Honor guys in this spot. Jonathan Gresham, Bandido, etc…
Cody Rhodes
This is a pure chaos pick, but here me out. AEW never swerves the fans like this. How much heat would Cody Rhodes get if he’s the one to take this spot?
A LOT
Let’s remember Tony Khan’s tweet. A free agent is walking through the forbidden door, signing a new contract, and slamming the door shut. Cody Rhodes is technically a free agent and just lost his last huge match for the TNT Title. In the buildup to that Ladder match, Cody was pissed off at the amount of people “walking through the forbidden door.” He’s always been there for the people and will ‘never turn heel.’ Except this swerve will be the heel turn he’s always avoided and the people will be against him.
That’s a pure fantasy booking situation that will never happen, but a man can dream. I could definitely see Cody taking the Joker card in the actual Face of the Revolution ladder match, though.
Possibility? 1/5 Highly unlikely
There was one other person that I thought about speculating for, but decided against: Johnny Gargano. He’s not debuting for awhile because Candice LeRae is still pregnant. He’s already committed to being there for her and their first child, so him debuting for a wrestling company won’t happen for awhile. It’s awesome that he’s focusing on his family.
But there we have it. Who do you think is going to be the surprise signing?
Will it be someone completely out of left field, or the Limitless one?
Let me know on Twitter @game_gimmicks or @EikelberryNick