AEW star you thought would be a big name for the company

[Instant Classic]

But didn’t become one or hasn’t yet that surprises you?


I’m gonna go with Red Velvet. She’s got a fun name and a good look. Remember when it was Velvet and Cody vs Shaq and Jade? She seemed like she was going to be one of the mainstays for the women’s division, but she’s hardly ever used.

[Hypnosis]

Sadie Gibbs.  There was a video package for her on the first Double or Nothing in 2019, then the problems with Bea Priestley happened, and both were later gone from the company.

Kylie Rae was clearly being positioned as another big name for the women's division before the unfortunate mental health issues.

For the men, I thought Joey Janela and Wardlow would have been hovering around the top of the card early on.

[fw91]

Really thought Miro was going to parlay his "Rusev Day" overness into a main event staple in AEW. Perhaps I falling under the main event or bust mentality here?

[BlackoutCreature]

When AEW signed Joey Janela, he was one of the hottest acts on the indies. His street fight with Adam Page at the original All In was one of the shows marquis matches and he main evented the first Fyter Fest against Jon Moxley. I did not expect him to so quickly be reduced to Elevation and Dark fodder.

Considering how popular he got in Lucha Underground, I really thought Pentagon would be a bigger deal in AEW then he is. I mean, he gets decent TV time, but I really expected him to be a regular in the title picture.

While I never really thought much of him, when AEW signed Lance Archer he was just coming off of a really hot run in Japan and was being matched up with Jake Roberts, which seemed like a big deal at the time. It's really shocking how little they've done with him since.

[Cyno]

I thought Private Party were going to be perennial players in the tag title scene, especially after the Young Bucks put them over clean. Unfortunately, injuries and Matt Hardy derailed their momentum.

[kingoftheindies]

AS others have said, Janela was hyped up as a huge signing. Unfortunately, Joey's his own worst enemy with that.

To go with the Sadie Gibbs shout, AEW had big plans for Bea Priestly, but again she was her own worst enemy and ended up pretty universally hated for only working a few shows.

[polarbearpete]

Janela and Private Party from the originals for sure.

[sfvega]

I thought Miro would be world champ, I thought Penta would be main event. I thought Private Party would be positioned about where The Acclaimed is now. And I thought Gresham would be about where Ospreay is now in the promotion.

[Facetious]

When Miro hit big with the Redeemer character. He was untouchable. You had to see the squash matches during that TNT run. Everything felt important during the run. Then he sat at home because he didn't like his proposed storylines and then when he did return, he brought his wife in with him and started another cuck storyline with a talent that was one foot out the door. Oh and allegedly he doesn't want to lose.

I'll add Janela, but I do believe he's better off in a smaller pond. He's a guy with a great sense of what weird shit will work out and that doesn't translate to TV all that well.

Scorpio Sky. When he first took over for Daniel's spot in the tag tournament to crown the first tag team champs, he felt huge. Then he proceeded to show that he was carried by the SCU act, was quickly surpassed by other rising talent and new names, and wasn't anything worthwhile on his own. The sooner we forget ATT, the better.

[Hypnosis]

Malakai just being a trios guy now instead of doing singles matches as often as Brody King and Buddy Matthews is weird, too.

[Cyno]

I legit forgot Sadie Gibbs existed. She had like 1 match? Maybe 2?

Remember Shanna? They seemed like they wanted her to be one of the mainstays in the division in the early days. Don't remember if the pandemic or injury was the reason why she was gone for a long time, but she also did a racism in between and that was that.

[Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite]

Jimmy Havoc was a pretty regular presence on TV early on but then bad choices got him fired.


It's kind of shocking how little Lance Archer has really done. He's treated as a threat and has had a few big wins here and there but for a guy with Jake Roberts as his manager he's had very little to show in the way of memorable feuds or storylines

When Private Party beat the Bucks I predicted at the time they would have the tag titles within a year, but then injuries happened and plenty of teams came in that were just more ready

By this point I would have guessed that The Dark Order would have managed to achieve SOMETHING for themselves outside of being Hangman's loveable loser buddies, but they've continued to dwindle in number and credibility

[Push R Truth]

I seriously thought Miro was going to change the industry.

The only thing that changed was who was signing his paycheck.

[kingoftheindies]

Feb 18, 2024 12:35:18 GMT -5 Cyno said:

I legit forgot Sadie Gibbs existed. She had like 1 match? Maybe 2?

Remember Shanna? They seemed like they wanted her to be one of the mainstays in the division in the early days. Don't remember if the pandemic or injury was the reason why she was gone for a long time, but she also did a racism in between and that was that.

Pandemic kept her off tv first.

Shanna was always notorious for having a bad attitude and big leaguing people. She was told she was putting over Leyla Hirsch on tv (may have been dark don't remember) and she sabotaged the match by sandbagging Leyla and also shot on her... which resulted in Leyla almost breaking Shanna's arm and slapping the crap out of her. After that Shanna was gone.

It's kind of shocking how little Lance Archer has really done. He's treated as a threat and has had a few big wins here and there but for a guy with Jake Roberts as his manager he's had very little to show in the way of memorable feuds or storylines

Archer has dealt with a lot of injuries too. He'd get healthy, they'd send him to a New Japan tour, and he'd get hurt again.

[raymondo316]

Miro

I thought he was going to prove WWE wrong and be a multi time world champion.

[Fade is a CodyCryBaby]

Ethan Page. It’s just not there.

[Dub H]

Honestly? John Silver ,but like everyone on the dark order tony Khan decide to f*** then over and over

[GOTHIC CHARISMA 🧊 🥶❄️FURY]

Feb 18, 2024 12:27:17 GMT -5 Hypnosis said:

Malakai just being a trios guy now instead of doing singles matches as often as Brody King and Buddy Matthews is weird, too.

this is the one for me, i can't believe neither company has had him facing off for any of the main titles. NXT black and gold kinda counts but really I thought he would be an established easy main eventer. trips me out

[Kalmia]

Yeah, I'm another one who thought Malakai would have been a bigger deal, especially with how he came in with those matches against Cody. But injuries, personal issues, and who knows what else got in the way.

[kingoftheindies]

Feb 18, 2024 12:27:17 GMT -5 Hypnosis said:

Malakai just being a trios guy now instead of doing singles matches as often as Brody King and Buddy Matthews is weird, too.

Even SRS, while not outrightly saying it, is heavily implying that Malakai is in a situation to Andrade but less willing to lose