I remember a time where mass WWE firings were an expected part of the pro wrestling year.

We had a special name for it too: “Spring Cleaning.” Every year right after WrestleMania, WWE would clear out some of the deadwood on the roster to make room for new talent. There would be a name here or there that would come as a surprise, and inevitably there would be a name or two per year that was exceedingly popular with the Internet fanbase. Typically, it was WWE dumping a bunch of people they didn’t really need. At least not at that moment. Plenty of people that got fired during various purges would come back to WWE at a later date. Some would thrive during their second opportunity. Some wouldn’t.

This practice, from what I could surmise, came to an end for two reasons. One was Linda McMahon’s political career. She liked to take credit for being a job creator, so it was a bad look when WWE would eliminate jobs. Even if she wasn’t with the company at the time, people would hold that against her because she was still technically married to Vince. The other was Paul Levesque’s obsession with having every wrestler in civilization under contract. This was a thing before All Elite Wrestling was formed, but it got even worse once that happened. Triple H liked having toys on the shelf, whether he played with them or not. The Performance Center has been well-stocked since it was built, and ideally there would be Performance Centers all across the globe full of wrestlers to be kept on shelves and used when it was convenient.

This stood to be WWE’s way of doing business going forward for a long time to come. Until the coronavirus came along and changed everything. Vince McMahon had to take a look at what was going on around him, for the sake of the profit margin if nothing else. Ticket revenue would no longer be a thing, and the less said about the ratings for wrestling shows right now the better. So Vince had to find a place to trim some fat, and to be perfectly honest, the talent roster had plenty of it.

This led to the assumption that All Elite Wrestling would absorb all of these talents. After all, isn’t that what the #2 wrestling promotion always does? WCW was more than happy to sign all of the WWF’s top stars once Vince decided they were too old. That was a darn good business plan for a number of years. Then TNA came along, and they thought that featuring everybody that WWE ever fired on their programming was a good idea. They didn’t get the point that even WCW got.

Some ex-WWFEers were worth promoting. Some weren’t. WCW pointed out the big signings and phased some of the other guys into the mid-card where they belonged. TNA had everybody cutting promos on Vince about how they were held back and now the chains were off. Some guys actually had chains, and did excel in TNA, but a lot of them didn’t. It got to the point where TNA got ripped on for signing everybody WWE fired.

Why would AEW want that smoke?

Let’s be honest. All Elite Wrestling’s roster is already pretty full. I’m not saying there aren’t weaknesses that could be improved, but there are certain roles that are already filled. When AEW looks at these new free agents, they should be questioning whether or not the person brings something to the table that AEW doesn’t already have. That’s more important than having WWE TV exposure.

I’m not saying AEW shouldn’t sign any of these people. The Revolt/Revival would fit AEW like a glove. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson might have some unfinished business with New Japan, but they’d fill a role in the AEW tag team division too. Rusev would be a great signing. Deonna Purrazo would be a tremendous addition to the women’s division. AEW just needs to be smart about it. They can’t sign people just because they were in WWE forever. They need to pick and choose the ones that can fill roles & have a ton of potential.

Unfortunately for fans of Zack Ryder or Heath Slater, those two guys might not fit either qualification. Cody had some words on Instagram Live about Zack Ryder, which my BFF Jeremy Lambert  was kind enough to transcribe:

“Zack Ryder is the best. He’s got over two million followers on Twitter and over a million followers on Instagram. Very broad influence, incredibly famous, more famous than many guys out there. But that doesn’t always translate. The biggest hurdle he’ll face is his friendship with me. He’s one of my only really close friends in wrestling. Maybe my only friend in wrestling. I have my brother (in AEW), I have my beautiful wife, and they all do the work. This can’t be All Friends Wrestling. You have to handle it the best way. If you put on the Nightmare Family jacket, you’ve got a massive bullseye on your back, just in the locker room alone. It’s a total heat seeker. But I’m looking forward to what he does next. He’ll turn a lot of heads. I think and hope our paths will cross down the road. He’s just entering wrestler prime. Men’s wrestler prime is 35 to 40.”

Well it’s good to know I’m in the early part of men’s wrestler prime.

Somebody asked about Slater, and Cody was all like “we’re not interested”, which some take to be an angle, but should be completely accurate. What does Heath Slater bring to the table that nobody on AEW’s roster can? Kids? I can name a few AEW roster members that have created life at one point or another. Red hair? Well, longtime readers of mine know that I would recommend for AEW to sign Taeler Hendrix first if that’s what they’re into. Workrate? OK, give me any Heath Slater matches that ever went above three snowflakes. And don’t say “WeeLC” because that was all Hornswoggle & El Torito with their friends along for the ride.

Listen, I feel as much for Ryder & Slater as anybody else does. Losing a job you’ve had for over a decade…well, I can’t really identify with that because nobody’s paid me for that long. I imagine it sucks. And it would be nice if they could just call their buddy Cody and get hooked up to that sweet Khan money. I’m also aware that some people are employed by AEW because they are friends with somebody important. I cut Chris Jericho getting Dr. Luther in a little slack because Luther’s been at it a long time and has never been with a major North American promotion. I cut Anna Jay getting a match due to being a Nightmare Factory trainee and then getting hired by AEW some slack because she’s had less than ten matches and already shows a hell of a lot of potential.

My bit of a thing for Anna Jay is completely irrelevant here.

If you’re going to bring in friends and risk the “All Friends Wrestling” moniker, I would prefer it being over people that have never gotten a chance to shine under the bright lights before. Give new people a chance! When it’s over people that have been on worldwide television for over ten years and have never escaped the mid-card…ehhhh.

I choose to believe that AEW has learned the right lessons from TNA. Bring in the WWE folks that actually have potential. Nobody blamed them for signing Matt Hardy or Brodie Lee. Matt has a large fanbase & a creative mind, while Brodie had a ton of potential wasted. You find the people that fit under those requirements and sign them. Unfortunately, there are a number of names on that list that were in WWE for over a decade and weren’t actually underutilized.

My favorite mid-card act in AEW is Best Friends with Orange Cassidy. Orange has gotten tremendously over by doing nothing, but those in the know can tell you he’s very talented. Trent is a former WWE guy that got to hone his craft by working Japan and everywhere else for years before reappearing on national television. Chuck Taylor was on the indies forever and finally found something by hooking up with Trent & Orange. He’s a fellow Kentucky Gentleman so I gotta respect it.

People will yell and scream for AEW to sign Zack Ryder & Heath Slater. Ryder & Slater would be replacing Best Friends & Orange Cassidy in the mid-card if they reach their full potential. Who would you rather watch? I’ll stick with the BF & OC. They’re easier to root for in my book than people that got to cash a check from WWE for over a decade.

My advice to guys like Ryder, Slater and anybody else that was employed by WWE and did nothing forever? Do something that makes people take notice. My example: Jake Hager. Jack Swagger certainly had his ups & downs in WWE, and by the time he left the bloom had come off his rose. Lucha Undergound made him a champion, but that might have helped kill that promotion. Hager dedicated himself to MMA & had some success. By the time Chris Jericho needed to form an Inner Circle in AEW, Jake Hager seemed like a pretty great addition.

A guy like Zack Ryder could make a killing in the indies once they start back up. You know PWG would put him in the BOLA. ROH would give him some dates. Not to mention all the feds that love booking former WWE Superstars. There could be some seminar work too. If Ryder busts his ass and becomes a talked about worker as Matt Cardona, then AEW has to take notice and he can be part of the Nightmare Family or Cody’s newest rival or whatever.

“Do The Work”

That’s one of Cody’s taglines, right? Have these guys do the work. Then once Zack Ryder or Heath Slater or any of these other guys that were with WWE forever and did little of note appear on AEW television, it might mean something. Don’t bring them in for a cheap pop and a “shoot promo”. Today’s audience has no time for that. Neither did yesterday’s, but nobody had the heart to tell those promoters.