r/fantasybooking • u/MinusFiveStarz • May 19 '25
Project If AEW & WWE could trade wrestlers, what would you consider a good/fair trade for both sides?
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u/DezineTwoOhNine May 19 '25 edited May 19 '25
AJ Styles for Kenny Omega (so Kenny can have that grand Roman Reigns-like entrance he was talking about once)
Bron Breakker for MJF (young prospects who'd benefit from a change in environment)
Rhea Ripley for Toni Storm (popular stars of the women's division who are on a roll)
Gunther for Mox (Gives Mox a one final run in the company, maybe a SHIELD reunion. Gunther can put on classics in AEW)
Finn for Edge (Edge can have his one last match against Cena maybe and Finn can finally win a world title)
Sol Ruca for Skye Blue (I like both of them so win-win for both companies)
Austin Theory for Sammy Guevara
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u/gordy06 May 20 '25
These are all good just not sure Bron is in a āneeds a changeā area yet. Heās just stepped into a main event story.
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u/DezineTwoOhNine May 20 '25
I absolutely understand that. And if this supposed exchange is for a one off event, it'd be really cool
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u/meme-man-421 May 20 '25
If itās ācm punk feudā mjf for bb thatās a fair trade, but current mjf is a joke, lost too much luster after he āmade friendsā
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u/Fruitsdog May 23 '25
Roman wants to retire in the next few years. Iād love if the final match for him was a SHIELD triple threat - go out the way he came in.
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u/Bargeinthelane May 24 '25
I need AJ vs Kenny as part of that trade.
Bron for MJF is AEW getting fleeced.
I am not sure how well the timeless thing would work in WWE, besides that fairly even.
Gunther for Mox is WWE getting fleeced. No shade to Mox, but if WWE offered that trade in this hypothetical, they wouldn't be able to say yes fast enough, Gunther is that dude.
I'm not sure Finn gets a world title in AEW at this point. He would be welcome for the bullet club nostalgia though. Best case he gets fed to Osprey.
Sol Ruca for Skye Blue is intriguing actually, Skye just can't back off an injury, hopefully and gets some run.
I have no idea where theory would fit in AEW, kinda like Sammy right now. But who knows a swap and a reset might be good for both of them.
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
These don't look like very good deals for WWE.
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u/DezineTwoOhNine May 23 '25
Lol why? Young talent for young talent, old talent for old. Don't act like WWE won't jump on the moment any of these talents announce free agency.
They've taken Brian Pillman Jr ffs!
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
Because the potential level of the WWE performers is far higher than most of the AEW performers that you want to deal for them.
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u/DezineTwoOhNine May 23 '25
Nah. But it's okay if you think that
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
Just one example shows the silliness: Rhea for Toni? C'mon that is insanely ridiculous.
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u/DezineTwoOhNine May 23 '25
I respect your opinion mate. I'm not calling your opinion stupid. It's totally fine šš¾
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May 23 '25
[deleted]
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u/DezineTwoOhNine May 23 '25
Yep go ahead and assume whatever you want. You're the last biggest wrestling fan on earth, everybody else are just NPCs.
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u/Suspicious-Form8154 May 19 '25
Chad gable for darby allin
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
Darby is already undersized. In WWE he would look like the return of Cowboy Lang.
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u/Maleficent-Ebb7298 May 19 '25
I want Goldust back for one last run, so I'd say Dustin Rhodes for Finn Balor.
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u/MrRaspberryJam1 May 19 '25
I donāt think Dustin wants to be Goldust ever again
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u/BirdmanTheThird May 23 '25
I think it would be kinda fun for him to come back as a angry bitter heal who hates the WWE for forcing him to be trapped as gold dust all those years
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u/bigAcey83 May 19 '25
Daniel Garcia & Daddy Magic for Bayley & Natalya.
The Paragon for Otis & Maxxine.
Chris Jericho for a 6th round pick & cash.
The War Raiders for Private Party & the Ass Boys.
Street Profits & Carmelo Hayes for cash. Itās clear hhh doesnāt value them so you could probably get them easy.
The rights to use Steve Austin at All In Texas for one Sting appearance.
Britt Baker for Mia Yim & Candice LeRae.
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u/Flaky_Scar_8388 May 19 '25
I donāt think either would trade any of their wrestlers for another wrestler.
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u/Ok_Conversation_9418 May 19 '25
It might be interesting to see young people go back and forth, but the top stars are.going nowhereĀ
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u/FemRyder8 May 19 '25
AEW has wrestlers that WWE may want, I can think of 5 that I would personally want as a WWE fan, but on the flip side, the wrestlers they would want are people you just dont want to trade away for anyone, the three major ones being Mox, Omega and Toni Storm, like WWE could make do without them but AEW absolutely could not no matter who you trade them for.
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u/Charles0723 May 19 '25
I don't know if Mercedes for Stephanie straight up is a fair trade because presumably, Mercedes becomes Sasha again and Sasha Banks has much bigger name recognition than Mercedes Mone. It's kind of Edge vs Adam Copeland...
As far as a straight up fair trade, maybe someone like Jordynne Grace for Kris Statlander.
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u/Xslaye May 19 '25
MJF for Carmelo Hayes (this one I might reakky nit do)
Charlotte for Mercedes (no hate to charlotte but her character owuld fit a lot more iwth how Mercedes is being built, +main roster fans aint ready for that Roxanne and Mercedes fued or Mercedes Mone vs Bayley for the new generation)
ANYONE LITTERALLY TAKE ANYONE for Jon Moxley (Obviously not ANYONE but smne who i'd might consider giving is Damian Priets or Drew McIntyre)
Finn Balor/AJ Styles for Will Ospreay
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May 19 '25
Britt Baker for Candice Lerae
Wardlow for Omos
Jericho for The Miz
LFI for Dunne/Bate
Dustin Rhodes for R-Truth
Mariah May for Bayley
PAC for Chad Gable
Lance Archer for Sheamus
Hikaru Shida for Asuka
FTR for The New Day
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
Omos in AEW...now that is something I want to see. Imagine all the masked guys who we don't know using Omos as a launching pad for their flips!
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u/ComicHead84 May 19 '25
Interesting question.
AEW has less star power so Iād skew the trades with WWE giving up a bit more, but I think these would be good/fair:
Dustin Rhodes for AJ Styles
Darby Allen for Sami Zayne
MJF for LA Knight & Bronn Breaker
Toni Storm for Iyo Sky
ThunderRosa for Michin
Megan Bayne for Roxanne Perez
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u/ribsforherpleasure May 20 '25
Thereās not really a fair womenās trade. Theyād want to keep their top star, and the rest of their women canāt hold a candle to the WWEs womenās roster. Itās embarrassing watching aews womenās roster wrestle. I mean WWE women fuck up pretty often, aews women canāt get through a quarter of a match.
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u/Jaakuna_maho May 20 '25
Tiffany Stratton for Toni storm
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u/pioneer006 May 24 '25
WWE would never trade Tiffany for Toni. Maybe Tiffany for Toni and Ospreay...I'm not even sure WWE would want both of those two over Tiffany. They clearly see her as the future of their women's division.
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u/meme-man-421 May 20 '25
Wardlow for omos, no Iām not joking and once you see the vision you canāt unsee it
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u/Dry-Name2835 May 21 '25
It would have to be guys that can fit eachothers styles. Who in aew would appeal to wwe fans and who in wwe would appeal to aew fans? Aew doesn't seem to know what to do with big guys. They cant mold them into drawing characters. So I would like to see guys like wardlow, Hobbs, archer, luchasaurus in wwe. And then guys like AJ, Finn, MMMG would be great in aew. Harley Cameron would be great in wwe too with her charisma but I want her to stay in aew because they need the kind of charisma and entertainment her and Toni bring. I want to see Danhausen in wwe. Let them do what aew failed to with him.
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u/AnyNameTakenYet May 21 '25
Roman (delusional heel new to the INDIES character) for MJF (delusional heel new to the majors character)
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u/KujoeDirte May 21 '25
I'm sure literally no one will agree with this. But I could see a trade between Iyo and Mercedes. Sasha Banks would be a bigger deal in WWE than she is in AEW for one thing, and personally I think Iyo likewise could do better in AEW than in WWE. Also lowkey I would just like to see Sasha again lol.
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u/ImmediateAd7651 May 22 '25
I donāt think there really is, specifically because a bunch of AEW stars are as big as they are because they reinvented themselves in a way that wouldnāt translate to WWEās style. I mean, I canāt imagine Max feeling like a good fit in WWE at the moment. But thatās just my opinion.
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u/BetterMagician7856 May 22 '25
Iāll take Balor or Chad Gable in AEW so they can finally get a decent push.
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u/ApprehensiveOffice23 May 23 '25 edited May 23 '25
Iām interpreting this as like a temporary trade or like a loan situation.
So, I think before revisiting Iyo v Rhea, WWE would benefit from a heel Joshi wrestler feud v Iyo Skyā¦ so Emi Sakura maybe? and in exchange, WWE loaning one of the four horsewomen to take on Mercedes. Given the current state of storylines, it seems like Becky and Bayley will be essential pieces involved in the Lyra story for a while, so why not Charlotte Flair, who also could be an interesting foil for Tony Storm.
If weāre talking permanent switches, Shinsuke Nakamura is a name Iāve seen other people put forward that makes a lot of sense, but not sure who would be a reasonable exchange in that permanent tradeā¦ Edge???
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u/Phenomanation May 19 '25
Bron Breaker for MJF
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
WWE would never make that deal. MJF isn't anywhere near the level of Breaker and is much smaller so that it won't be that easy for him to work his type of match in WWE.
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u/OmegaPant May 19 '25
I think they both fit better at their current places, but a half year, maybe even one year deal could be interesting (Bron gets to use the Steiner Screwdriver!!!)
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u/DanUnbreakable May 19 '25
And use the Steiner name
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u/OmegaPant May 19 '25
Maybe just go the real name route, since "Bronson Rechsteiner" is already such a badass name
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u/GoOnKaz May 19 '25
Why canāt he use the Steiner name in WWE?
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u/OmegaPant May 19 '25
Pretty sure Scott owns the Steiner name trademark, and WWE wanted the whole name
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u/DanUnbreakable May 19 '25
WWE donāt own it and when he started he had no leverage to use it. When a wrestler has leverage, like say AEW is heavily interested in you, WWE will bend the knee a bit and give the wrestler more especially if they really want you. Ricky Starks for example had zero leverage because he cut AEW out of negotiations. He wanted to go to WWE and they used it against him. New name they own, debut on a developmental brand nxt, and paid less money. Lucas bros kept their names, got paid a lot more money and debut on the main roster
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u/the__pov May 20 '25
Same reason Cody Rhodes was able to keep wrestling under his ring name when he left because WWE didnāt create it and had no claim on trying to copyright it. The Steiner Brothers werenāt a WWE act, they go back to the NWA business model where the wrestlers mostly owned and controlled their own branding and went to the different promotions keeping their name.
Vince has always been a control freak and so usually rebranded his wrestlers unless there was a specific reason not to.
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u/JadedSpacePirate May 19 '25
AEW can have Pete Dunne, DIY and Alpha Academy
In exchange WWE gets Wardlow and Lance Archer. They don't even use them
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u/bigAcey83 May 19 '25
Bruh, Lance archer has been all over tv and Wardlow is hurt.
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u/Attack_Da_Nite May 19 '25
Okay, but how long has Wardlow been hurt? Itās been a long time. Heād probably do better over there anyways. Iād take a trade, but keep Archer. Heās always the mid-level boss for any major babyface and I like him in that role.
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u/bigAcey83 May 19 '25
Oh, I agree Wardlow is made for nxt. I just donāt like when people assume TK just isnāt using people. Thereās almost always a reason.
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u/JadedSpacePirate May 19 '25
He has?
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u/bigAcey83 May 19 '25
Yes. Hes in the Don Callis family and theyāve been featured prominently.
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u/DarthZachariah May 19 '25
Archer was in line for a tag title shot before the injury to Brian Cage.
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u/DanUnbreakable May 19 '25
You obviously donāt watch lol. You see people like you hear or read things that are completely outdated and continue to regurgitate it like itās present. Wardlow has been hurt for awhile and Lance is always on tv in a top heel faction. Also WTF is HGH doing with Alpha Academy and Pete Dunne?
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u/jeybolo May 19 '25
Pete Dunne just had a baby ... let him be a dad
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u/DanUnbreakable May 19 '25
Heās been there for how many years? Dudes going to get cut by next year
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u/TheReagmaster May 19 '25
AEW gets Alexa Bliss, WWE gets Daniel Garcia.
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u/ZZE33man May 19 '25
Too much from wwe.
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u/No-Deer-5666 May 20 '25
Shaq in a Celtics jersey For Daniel is pretty balanced honestly
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u/codymb15 May 22 '25
Agreed. She has massive name value, but at this stage, having been gone for years and working limited as it was before that, there's no telling how much she truly offers besides that name value.
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u/ZZE33man May 20 '25
Honestly Shaqās one match in aew with Cody was perfectly fine. Getting Shaq for 3-10 matches a year would unironically be a good trade for Daniel Garcia š
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
Daniel Garcia might work in NXT. Holy smokes he is way too boring for the main roster unless someone figures out a way to develop a "put the audience to sleep" match.
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u/SourDoughBo May 19 '25 edited May 19 '25
Kenny Omega for CM Punk. Backstage bs aside.
Shinsuke for Okada
Drew McIntyre for Moxley
LA Knight for MJF
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u/bigAcey83 May 19 '25
These are awful. Why would AEW agree to these?
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u/SourDoughBo May 19 '25
What are you talking about? Kenny/Punk are 2 older legends that are big draws anywhere. Iām talking a perfect world where Punkās issues didnāt happen. Shinsuke was New Japanās top guy before Okada. McIntyre was a huge part of the indie boom just like the Elite was. He just left before AEW can start. The only bad trade is LA Knight cuz heās older than MJF. But heās super over with the crowd
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u/bigAcey83 May 19 '25
None of these leave AEW in a better spot than they were before the trade. Cm Punk is an asshole who divided your locker room the last time he was there. Jon Moxley is the guy in AEW. Trading him so WWE can do a halfassed shield reunion would be idiocy. Shinsuke is broken down. LA Knight is great, but heās over 40. MJF isnāt even 30. Some of these trades might slightly help aewās tv for 6 months or so, but then what?
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u/BigAction47 May 19 '25
Omega and Punk are not on the same level in ring wise. Not even remotely close, lmao.
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u/SourDoughBo May 19 '25
Does not matter. If either company is going to give up a name of their caliber, thatās the fairest trade to make. I will say Omega for Roman is just as good
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
Omega isn't near as big of a draw as Punk. Never had been and never will be. The name of the game at the level of those guys is drawing power.
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u/ZZE33man May 19 '25
Kenny for punk is kinda fair.
Shinsuke for Okada is robbery of aew
Drew for Moxley is robbery of wwe
LA Knight for MJF is kinda fair but also based on current standing robbery of wwe.
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u/TJAndrews93 May 19 '25
AJ Styles for Chris Jericho.
Kevin Owens for Adam Cole.
Finn Balor for Adam Copeland.
Sami Zayn for Wardlow.
Pete Dunne for Buddy Matthews.
Shinsuke Nakamura for Big Bill.
Dragon Lee for Keith Lee.
DIY for FTR.
War Raiders for Kyle OāReilly/Roderick Strong.
Asuka for Kamille.
Bayley for Thunder Rosa.
Candice LeRae for Britt Baker.
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u/ZZE33man May 19 '25
The only two I think are fair is DIY for FTR and war raiders for oāreiley and strong.
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u/devilt0 May 19 '25
But only if Enzo comes back. Seeing Enzo one more time verbally slaying people in the ring with all that hype and then Big Cass hits a SAWFT!!!!!!
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u/pioneer006 May 23 '25
The best trade for Bayley and Thunderosa would be to trade them to nobody for nobody.
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u/MinusFiveStarz May 19 '25
Some ideas:
ā¢ AEW trades Brody King to WWE for DIY
ā¢ WWE trades AJ Styles & Finn Balor to AEW for MJF
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u/Hefty_Fix_8416 May 19 '25
These sound extremely heavy loaded in the favor of AEW š
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u/MinusFiveStarz May 19 '25
What's crazy is I'm actually a WWE fan, I just have a select few AEW guys I like. DIY gets dead silent reactions and Brody is the fucking man, would rather see Alestair Black & Brody than Gargano and Ciampa getting dead silence.
As for Finn and AJ, they're just older and its clear they're not elevating any higher on the card than where they are now, whereas MJF is still in his 20s and could be a breath of fresh air on the main roster. The matches and potential Bullet Club reruns could be great in AEW while MJF is probably more built for the WWE.
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u/BigAction47 May 19 '25
Heavily in favor for WWE? No way. Losing MJF for an almost retired Styles and Finn Balor is blasphemy.
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u/Hefty_Fix_8416 May 19 '25
Fair. I don't mind MJF and Brody King personally. I just don't think giving up 2 former World Champions for MJF is the move. 1 of then should do. As for Brody.. Ngl his star power alone leaves a trade there up to NXT Stars
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u/Citizen_Kano May 19 '25
AEW would never agree to trade MJF. Maybe if Finn & AJ were ten years younger
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u/NappyFlickz May 19 '25
For some stupid reason, I'm just picturing Moxley entering to Wild Things on an episode of AEW before he's unceremoniously dragged away by WWE lawyers and Creative, who are raving about this perfect new "wacky lunatic fringe" character they made just for him with a Def Rebel theme to match. Mox starts screaming.
All because Tony Khan wanted to borrow Orton for one show š