The Tides Are Changing – The next six months or so could get very interesting in WWE and AEW

The next six months or so could get very interesting as the landscapes of AEW and WWE shift and change. This week saw the epic announcement of Jade Cargill signing with WWE. Her signing was given mainstream sports media attention and was heavily hyped by WWE, giving us an idea of how much of a star they believe they have in Cargill. Something that could be on the horizon, is the potential debut of Edge in AEW which could come as soon as Wrestledream where Christian Cage is set to main event against Darby Allin. Edge coming into AEW would inject them with star power they lost when CM Punk was fired last month. Speaking of CM Punk, Survivor Series is in Chicago in November, Punk was at a Raw show earlier this year talking to people and potentially mending fences. As we head into next year, both companies could be getting a huge shot of momentum.

Starting with Jade, she was presented as a huge star in her AEW run. She was given a 60-match undefeated streak that elevated her into one of the top acts of not just the women’s division, but the entire roster itself. While her presentation was fantastic in AEW, her momentum did seem to hit a wall when it should’ve kept skyrocketing. In my opinion, it would’ve been a good idea for her to work with more of the top talents like Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, Hikaru Shida, etc. and get a run as the AEW Women’s Champion. Would that have been enough to keep her, who knows? I don’t think it would’ve hurt their chances. As for starting in WWE, it looks she’s going straight to the top of the card in the women’s division. I believe an easy place to start is taking on Nia Jax. Nia is presented as a bringer of chaos in the division, “injuring” several wrestlers over the last couple of weeks. Who better to stop her in her tracks than Jade Cargill. She would get instant momentum as a babyface, give her a big victory to start out, and then she can transition into being a heel, if necessary, on the way to WrestleMania. There will be no shortage of big matches for her with the likes of Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Iyo Sky, Asuka, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley on the roster. By this time next year, she could be the biggest star in the division and one of the biggest stars of the ENTIRE COMPANY if she’s booked properly.

With Edge’s contract with WWE coming to an end, it is widely speculated that he will sign with AEW and potentially reunite with Christian Cage. The setup is already there with Christian in the main event of Wrestledream against Darby Allin for the TNT Championship. He could easily show up at the end and reform his tag team with Christian and go on an epic tag run to cap off his career. The matches that could be had with the Young Bucks, FTR, Lucha Brothers, and a rekindling of their rivalry with the Hardys are worth the jump to AEW to me, if that’s what they intend to do. In my opinion, if he’s going to AEW to do the same thing he was doing in WWE, then I think he should just stay in WWE since there are a number of people he still hasn’t faced during his final run. He hasn’t wrestled Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, or Brock Lesnar. However, I suspect he might want to have one more run with Christian and deliver some dream tag matches to cross off his career checklist. Then, if he wants to, he could either retire or go back to WWE for one final match. It’s up to him and he has the chance to either end or continue his career on his terms, which is the point of his comeback to begin with. Whatever he decides to do, the possibilities are very exciting for this fan.

Now we get to CM Punk. He was fired last month, and we all know why. We all know what happened at All In and we all know the issues with the Elite that lasted for over a year. I’m not going to rehash all of that. I’m just going to speak on his potential return to WWE. If he does go back, it would be huge. WWE does have a history of mending relationships and it is not outside of the realm of possibility that they could mend another relationship by bringing back CM Punk. In the past, WWE made amends with Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Ultimate Warrior, Bruno Sammartino, Jeff Jarrett, Shane McMahon, Brock Lesnar, and Goldberg. If there is mutual interest, then they could easily do it again with CM Punk. As for what they could do with him, well, he would shoot straight to the main event level. Obviously, a match with Roman Reigns would be the biggest match for him, but he could wrestle Seth Rollins, Gunther, Drew, maybe Lesnar again, Steve Austin if he agreed to another match, and Cody Rhodes. I’d love to see him return, but I’ll believe it when I see it. If it does happen, bank on it happening at Survivor Series in Chicago.

The beautiful thing about all of this is that none of this craziness would be possible without the existence of AEW. Tony Khan brought a true alternative not just for fans, but for the wrestlers, as well. There are more opportunities for more talent than ever before. More money is being made than at any point in wrestling history. The excitement generated by wrestlers switching companies has not been seen since the Monday Night Wars. We had talents jump ship when TNA was at it’s peak, but they were never at the level AEW is at now. It’s an exciting time. I’m ready to see what happens.