4 Reasons why AEW stockpiling talent may be an issue in the future

AEW has done a great job of adding huge stars to their roster. Over the last few months alone, CM Punk, Adam Cole, and Bryan Danielson have all joined AEW. Cole and Danielson were both active wrestlers and top stars in WWE. Cole was arguably the biggest star in the history of NXT.

As for Punk, he returned to the wrestling ring after a seven-year hiatus. He had joined FOX for WWE Backstage, but his partnership ended when the show ended. Also joining AEW in 2021 were Ruby Soho, Christian Cage, Bobby Fish, Malakai Black, and Andrade El Idolo.

Since AEW is a desirable destination for pro wrestlers, it's not a surprise when a huge name joins the company. With roster cuts in WWE and surprise releases like Braun Strowman, the young promotion can get even bigger and better.

Contracts expire seemingly every month. Since it's the final quarter of 2021, there will only be more names available in the new year. While it hasn't proven to be a problem just yet, so many additions to the roster could be a problem for AEW in the future. Here are four reasons why.

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#4. Some AEW Stars might not get any TV time.

This is a problem that every promotion faces and AEW is no different. Before 2021, AEW still had a pretty stacked roster of past, current, and future wrestling stars. What started as a roster of around 40 stars has grown into one featuring over 100 professional wrestlers.

As the promotion grew, shows like Dark and Dark: Elevation were introduced. Because there is so much talent, AEW has performers wrestling on Dark and Dark: Elevation every week.

The difference between wrestling on those shows instead of on Rampage or Dynamite is TV exposure. To watch Dark and Dark Elevation, fans must go to AEW's YouTube page. Those shows often have 10+ matches per episode. Many are squash matches to pad records.

That's fine if people are used to streaming, but most eyes fall on the television shows of WWE, IMPACT, and AEW. Big angles typically take place more on television shows than on streaming shows. For AEW, those streaming shows are primarily to let the wrestlers get ring time.

For that reason, AEW keeps its performers busy. But when was the last time that someone like Joey Janela, Big Swole, or Abadon was on TV weekly? Adding so many big names to the roster will push others down the card. Those that were struggling to get on TV will find it only harder to do so.

#3. It might lead AEW to cut ties with some talented names like WWE did.

The AEW roster is very stacked. The roster already includes huge names like Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, the Young Bucks, the Lucha Brothers, and MJF.

Once 2021 hit, it seemed like new performers showed up every month. Part of that was due to signing talent from Dark or Dark Elevation. Other stars showed up because of massive roster cuts from WWE this year.

Some stars had 90-day non-compete clauses. Bigger names like Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, or Ruby Soho had to wait 90 days before they could wrestle on TV for a new promotion.

For stars still under contract with NXT, the non-compete clause was only 30 days. Malakai Black showed up before the others because his contract was never turned into a main-roster deal upon his promotion. Some releases were due to monetary reasons while others could have been due to creative clashes.

AEW is a wrestling promotion and also has to deal with those factors. It's a business that makes money. AEW does seem to give its performers a lot of creative freedom, but not every star gets the same amount of air time.

That could lead some performers to become unhappy. This could lead to some performers asking for a release. While it doesn't seem like that has been a problem for AEW, stars like Sadie Gibbs and Bea Priestley have already been released.

The work routine might not pan out or be enough for every star. With big names joining the promotion every few months, that could become even more of a problem.

For that reason, AEW might have to deal with more releases in the future. That might not be on the scale of the 2021 WWE releases, but it is a strong possibility.

If a performer feels that they are not flourishing or getting on TV, they might opt to try their chances elsewhere. With over 100 stars already and more likely to come, AEW might have to release some talent at some point.

#2. Adding so many big names could stunt the growth of younger, homegrown AEW stars.

AEW has done a great job of building young stars. It was clear from the early stages that Sammy Guevara, Jungle Boy, MJF, Darby Allin, and Kris Statlander were primed to be the future of the promotion.

Britt Baker was already extremely established before joining AEW. Adam Page could have also been a part of the above group but he was on the rise with the Elite before AEW's formation.

Allin is 27-3 in 2021 while MJF has a career record of 27-7. Statlander is 21-1 this year. These stars are the building blocks of AEW's future. While Allin, MJF, and Jungle Boy might not suffer from huge names joining the company, others might.

Private Party has potential and need some time to grow. They've been paired with veteran Matt Hardy as part of the Hardy Family Office. That faction, unfortunately, seems more like a stepping stone for faces. Along with the Butcher and the Blade and the Hybrid2, the group loses a lot more than it wins.

Powerhouse Hobbs is a homegrown star and part of Team Taz. He has a good record but most of his important matches have been losses. He has fallen to Adam Page, Christian Cage, Orange Cassidy, CM Punk, and to Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin in tag action.

Falling to big names like Punk is fine. It's hard, however, to take him winning over a star-like Page seriously due to booking patterns. AEW has utilized a lot of outside interference, including using that as part of the reason why Miro defeated Allin for the TNT Championship.

Hobbs has shades of Big E in him in that he's a powerful and athletic big man. Wardlow is 18-3 but most of his wins have been racked up against enhancement stars on Dark or Elevation. He has also lost his important big matches. Wardlow was defeated by Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, and Page.

Wardlow is similar to Hobbs but has been saddled as an obstacle for heroes to overcome. If more huge names join AEW and feud with MJF, he'll likely be forced to eat more big-match losses. If he breaks away from MJF, that would be great.

With big names joining AEW every few months, it will be harder for stars like Hobbs and Wardlow to progress. Big names in the industry take up the top spots and headlines. That makes it hard for lesser-known names with potential to move up the card.

#1. AEW now has so many huge names that all cannot be booked in the main event.

In the early stages of AEW's formation, the primary names in the main event were Jericho, Omega, Cody Rhodes, Moxley, and the Lucha Brothers. Each of those aforementioned names is either a former or current Champion in AEW.

Rhodes can't challenge for the World title due to losing against Jericho. Jungle Boy and Orange Cassidy have also had title shots and are among the top faces in the company. The same goes for Darby Allin.

Brian Cage has been embroiled in an ongoing feud with Team Taz. He should be a regular in the main event instead. Cage has a right to feel unhappy about his booking and he has mentioned it.

How long, however, will it be before some of those names get anxious? Miro lost the TNT Championship to Sammy Guevara. He could be a future World Champion, but with so many new additions, that path has several more obstacles.

Punk, Brian, and Cole alone will all be vying for the AEW World Championship. The first two are at the tail end of their careers while Cole is in his prime. Hangman Page has always been booked as a top face and may be the man to dethrone Omega.

MJF is the future of the business and is waiting for his time. Add in Pac, Malakai Black, and Andrade El Idolo and it's hard to find a consistent spot in the main event for several performers.

The main event doesn't necessarily mean only challenging for the promotion's major title. Seth Rollins and Edge have been immersed in a feud that doesn't involve a title. AEW can book some of the names that are not challenging for the major prize in the company near the main event.

Will fans campaign for someone like Punk to get a title shot? He is extremely over. Officials and wrestlers, however, may not always agree on where certain stars fit in the hierarchy of a company.

With so many new names now on the roster, AEW may find it hard to keep a lot of the big-name stars happy. Some are content with putting on a great match. That's not the case, however, for everyone. Being in the main event and/or the promotion's major Champion is usually the ultimate goal.