AEW: Five Names That Can Step Up To Offset Injuries

AEW has been bit by the injury bug over the past number of months, and even more so in recent weeks.

Recent injuries to CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Scorpio Sky, Jeff Hardy, Orange Cassidy, and Adam Cole, coupled with the absence of Kenny Omega and the possible prolonged absence of MJF make this the most challenging time in the company’s short history.

There has been a long-standing argument that AEW’s roster is “bloated” and they need to quit “adding to the roster”, but ironically, that stacked roster may just play a key role in being able to keep exciting television coming to us on a weekly basis in the form of Dynamite and Rampage despite what has been an injury-riddled start to the summer for the promotion.

While any number of AEW talents have a claim to be the ones to be elevated while other injured stars recover, here are five that could step in and allow the promotion to not skip a beat.

Five names that can step up to offset the many injuries that AEW has suffered recently and allow the promotion to continue thriving.

Andrade El Idolo

Andrade El Idolo is probably the poorest book wrestler in AEW not named Darby Allin.  When Andrade made his AEW debut there was a lot of hype surrounding the type of matches that he would be able to put on with some of the existing AEW talents.  While there have been many great matches, Andrade has found himself on the losing end of these encounters far too many times.

Now that Andrade seems to be parting ways with the Andrade Family Office and entering into business with Rush, the sky should be the limit for the uber-talented performer.

If Scorpio Sky ends up being on the shelf for an extended length of time, AEW could do a lot worse than putting the TNT Title on Andrade.

Malakai Black

Malakai Black’s debut in AEW was red hot.  He was paired up with Cody Rhodes right off the bat and won two of three matches against the AEW staple.  All signs seemed to point to Malakai Black having a very successful singles run in the promotion.

Then came the construction of the House of Black.   The House of Black itself is fine.  Three highly skilled men that work well as a team and should be one of the odds on favorites to win the Trios Titles when they are introduced into AEW in the future.

But since joining forces with Brody King and Buddy Matthews, any sort of singles push has gone missing in action for Malakai Black.

The best use of the House of Black right now is using King and Matthews as a contender in the tag team division while giving Malakai an extended run as a singles competitor.

When the AEW Trios Titles finally become a reality, the group can be brought back together to try to become the inaugural Trios Champions.

Pac

There is a case to be made that Pac is the most talented performer in all of AEW that has yet to hold a title.

Much like the aforementioned Malakai Black, Pac has been relegated to work with the Lucha Bros as part of Death Triangle.  Don’t get me wrong, Pac could do a lot worse than being teamed up with two amazing in-ring performers such as Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo.

But with Trios Titles not here yet, and Pac being the odd man out when it comes to a traditional tag team within the trio, this is the perfect spot for Pac to get back in a spot where he once was a regular within the promotion, putting on memorable singles matches.

Keith Lee

When Keith Lee debuted in AEW he seemed to have his sights set on acquiring the TNT Title.  But after failing to capture a shot at the TNT Title by winning the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match in March, the big man has formed a very fluid and entertaining tag team with Swerve Strickland.

Lee and Strickland have found success as a tag team, just recently getting a shot at the AEW Tag Team Titles at Double or Nothing.

However, AEW now finds itself at a spot where their top-of-the-card singles competitors are dropping like flies, so now may be the time to push Lee in singles competition.

Lee has proven his ability as a top singles star in NXT and just needs the opportunity to prove his mettle in this capacity in AEW.

Wardlow

Quite possible the hottest babyface in the company not named CM Punk right now might very well be Wardlow.

Fresh off his emancipation from MJF, fans have been left to wonder what is next for Wardlow.  It seems like this lawsuit brought up by Mark Sterling might occupy Wardlow’s time for a bit, but as hot as Wardlow is right now, the promotion should not take the risk of cooling him off with an angle that fans don’t care about.

Instead, Wardlow should make a serious push for and win the TNT Title.  The prestige of the TNT Title has never been lower and Wardlow is extremely over right now.

Tony Khan would be well served to “strike while the iron is hot” and use Wardlow’s surging popularity to help restore the TNT Title to its former glory.

At the end of the day, there are a ton of people that the promotion could use to help right the ship while many of its stars recover from injury.  We haven’t even mentioned Darby Allin, Miro, Swerve Strickland, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, Jay Lethal, Samoa Joe, Christian Cage, Eddie Kingston, or Hook, not to mention countless others.

While the loss of so many stars in AEW does sting, the promotion is in fantastic shape to continue forward and keep delivering the best wrestling going today.