What if The Elite raided WWE?
For the first time since WCW competed with WWE, a non-WWE wrestling entity sold out a major arena this fall. With Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks at the helm, All-In was a phenomenon, selling out a 10,000 seat arena in the Chicago area before they promoted a single specific match. By all accounts, it was a PPV and streaming success story. As such, All-In suggested reason to believe that non-WWE wrestling could not only survive in WWE, but under the right circumstances even compete.
WWE purportedly offered big money to top talents involved with Rhodes to come aboard as not only hot acts in wrestling but as rising thorns in the side of the company from a business perspective. The latest word is that at least the key players declined, and are rumored to be starting their own promotion, All Elite Wrestling.
There are a lot of unanswered questions about what All Elite Wrestling might be. If it does come to fruition the way many pundits anticipate, there’s the intriguing possibility that Rhodes and company may go recruiting for talents who felt like Rhodes did when he was under WWE contract—underused or misused, and worthy of a better showcase for their talents. So what if The Elite does raid WWE? This article looks at five talents they may target.
#5 Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan is the biggest star on this—a guy with a lengthy tenure, a loyal fanbase, and the clout of currently reigning as WWE Champion. However, an uncomfortable question remains on the backburner: is Bryan really a fit for WWE?
Prior to WWE finally clearing Bryan to return to the ring this past spring after a two year medically required retirement, it was clear Bryan thought he could safely wrestle, in the face of what WWE medical personnel suggested. Rumors ran rampant that Bryan would defect to a company like Ring of Honor or New Japan to ply his trade. Those companies were arguably better fits for him anyway, with their greater focus on work rate and a lot less of WWE's goofier antics.
It’s tough to imagine Bryan jumping to one of those other promotions now, if only for the pay cut and drop in notoriety it would entail. The Elite represent a unique opportunity to be a start of something new, though, Bryan could work his purest style while being treated as a main event talent in that context.