I know I’m late to the party on this, but there was another round of talent last week on November 4th. Some weren’t actually all that surprising and the reasoning given once again was “budget cuts.” At this point, it might be partly true but there’s more at play in some cases. Either way, I’m going to go over the ones listed and for the few that I know, I’ll add a statement or two on what I think should happen to them.
- Keith Lee – This one has taken most people by surprise because of his build up and his run in NXT. He’s put out a few statements on the situation but it seems like he’ll end up landing on his feet once his 90 days are up. The whole “Bearcat” gimmick never really went anywhere and people said he would “complain” about what was happening to him. No doubt with his size and ability I’m certain a few places will want him. With Adam Cole over in AEW, I can easily see him over there especially since Keith Lee had been the NXT champion at one point.
- Karrion Kross – I partly knew of him but didn’t see much of him myself. People are saying he’ll probably return to Impact wrestling along with Scarlett Bordeaux.
- Nia Jax – Surprising but not surprising for the wrong reasons. Main reasoning given seems to be her vaccination status but the WWE has been pretty good about keeping these things private (which they should). That said, given her history of being sloppy, injuring people and not being a good worker, I can’t really imagine AEW wanting her (they already have Nyla Rose). Her best bet is to lose weight (she was HUGE at the end) and turn to the indies to really learn if she cares about her craft.
- Ember Moon – I only caught her a few times on Twitch but she seemed like a nice person except that she was on the injured list for a long period. I can easily see her being picked up by AEW since their women’s division needs a big boost.
- Eva Marie – The bigger question is why did they even bother re-signing her? The only positive thing I can say about her is that she had a nice outfit. No loss but all gain here.
- Mia Yim – Not surprising because she didn’t really fit the Johnny Ace/Vince McMahon mode of women. But she is a decent worker and probably would do well in AEW’s women’s division.
- Harry Smith – They picked him up and did nothing with him. No idea what will happen with him. Even with his name, I don’t know if he’s so damaged at this point that he’ll be worth someone in the US picking him up right now. Maybe he’ll return to Japan.
- Gran Metalik – Heard he was part of Lucha House Party. Since Kalisto made his AEW debut, will this guy be far behind?
- Lince Dorado – No idea
- Jeet Rama – No idea
- Katrina Cortez – No idea
- Trey Baxter – No idea
- Zayda Ramier – No idea
- Jessi Kamea – No idea
- B-Fab – Heard her name but didn’t really see anything of her
- Oney Lorcan – No idea
- Franky Monet – Heard very good things about her although I’ve only seen her a few times. She’s experienced and can work. Probably will either return to Impact or go to AEW. Sad she never really made much of an impact in the WWE.
- Scarlett Bordeaux – Probably will follow her fiance which might be Impact. No idea if she’s any good
So of all the people, Keith Lee probably has the best prospects. Not sure how he would fit in AEW if he does show up because they just have so many people at the moment. I do hope Ember Moon, Mia Yim and Franky Monet show up in AEW just to bolster their women’s division. They really just need more experienced women and relegate people like The Bunny, Penelope Ford and Ana Jay to jobber status until they improve. But we’ll probably wait at least 30 days for a lot of these people to show up anywhere.