The weekly series continues where we focus on everything All Elite Wrestling. However, before we look to this week I do need to explain that instead of doing it to two times a week like I earlier thought I will be switching to once a week instead. At least for right now, because at this time I just don't feel like there is enough to write about for the company to write two times a week so instead of reaching for ideas I will just do one a week and maybe alternate the days. 

​At this point I've not spoken about any of the release requests that various WWE talents have put down to make the move AEW. Though some might question the legitimacy of the reports, but based on recent bookings of certain talent it is clear that the company is trying to protect talent and stop them from moving on and leaving. In my opinion I do think that the company could let some talent go just to move in a real fresh direction creatively; but also this would allow talent to get a fresh start and a new direction. 

Either way WWE is officially aware of the newest promotion, and are really trying to do everything they can to stop any and all talent from leaving the promotion. Now this doesn't mean that the company is shaking in their boots at this point with All Elite Wrestling just yet and the reason is because it is way to early in the process to think that AEW could be in a position to compete just yet. Right now I believe AEW is focused on bringing together a roster and setting up a card for their first official event in May. I just think that this is more about AEW putting WWE on notice and forcing them to really change how they look at certain talent; which is the most in part about this new promotion coming together. 

One of the biggest parts of the recent press conference held to announce the newest wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling. At the conference Cody made reference to the fact that anyone getting injured in an AEW ring would be protected and have medical expenses paid for by AEW. This has lead some believe that AEW & Tony Khan could be providing employees of the promotion health insurance. In the last decade we have seen numerous cases and questions about the idea of a union in the wrestling business or insurance for the promotion. 

Based on research financial backer and owner of the promotion Tony Khan is currently worth 4.5 million dollars and his father Shahid Khan is worth 6.8 billion. Now I don't think his father has anything to do with the promotion, but it is possible that his family could help similarly to Panda Energy & TNA Wrestling. Either way though Tony has even put on record that he would treat his new employees as actual employees which would mean he would provide to them the same connections that most employees do. 

Overall there isn't much known at this point about this aspect of what the promotion could provide, but I do think that this would help draw some talent to AEW. In my opinion it would help benefit the wrestlers take a step forward, but I do think it could hurt the smaller promotions due to the added expense of the union fees. However, hitting the mark with this would be if the AEW does make the move to set up health insurance for some of the workers it will be interesting to see where this goes and if they can actually set up something that has really never even come close to becoming a reality.  

One thing that we learned from the press conference last week is that the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion will be joining All Elite Wrestling. Jericho lost his Intercontinental title at Wrestle Kingdom 13 to Tetsuya Naito and at the time most fans questioned what the future could hold for the former champion. At this point it is clear that Jericho is at the point in his career where he can really do anything he wants to do. Based on what Jericho has said so far since his contract was signed the purpose behind him signing was due to him wanting to bring more attention to the new promotion. Currently his contract with AEW allows him to compete with other promotions mostly notably New Japan. 

Another interesting note that began to surface very early on due to the association the promotion has with super agent Barry Bloom there is a question if Goldberg will find his way to the promotion. Dating all the way back to his time in WCW the former Universal Champion has been associated with Barry Bloom which opens the door for something very interesting. Especially when we note that company owner Tony Khan has mentioned that nothing is set in stone as of now but he does like Bill and would be open to discussing brining him into the promotion. 

Overall I know some fans might think that the last thing that the new promotion is Goldberg or Jericho, but those people would be ignoring the positives that both men bring to the table. It is fair to say that at for Goldberg his best days are behind him, but to say that he doesn't have value to a promotion would be a lie as a lot of fans from the past will recognize the name. Either the way though the focus should be on the name that actually has signed with the promotion and that is Jericho who based on his run in New Japan has proven that he still in fact does have a lot left in the tank. Jericho will bring value to the upstart promotion as they build a foundation and look forward to the future the only question really is how long Jericho will remain in the promotion and where he will go next. 

Though the rumors for months have pointed to the start of a new wrestling promotion and even if it became more of not a matter of if but when the promotion would come together. On the first of the day the announcement officially came down from all those involved in the company. Cody, Hangman Page, and the Young Bucks were the first official signings for the company as expected. But now we have a little bit more information that has come out about the company and in the coming weeks we will be slowly breaking down the new details about the company piece by piece to make sure we get to everything. 

I also want to make it clear that starting next week I will be doing weekly updates for the promotion on Tuesday's and Saturday's with one day set aside for actual news & the other day for roster announcements. More than likely I will go for news of Tuesday and roster updates on the weekend just to keep things sorted and together. As there will be a lot of news coming out from week to week and this is the best way to keep organized in my opinion. 

The one main thing I wanted to focus on in this article is the announcement of the first event for the company. Right now the date for the event is May 25, 2018 in the MSG Grand Garden arena which is also an 18,000 seat arena. It is interesting to note that they have moved up from a 10,000 seat arena to the next stage and it will be something to watch for in the build for the event. Adding new talent like Jericho, Pac, Janela, and MJF as some of the new signings for the roster and it just makes things all more interesting for the new promotion.

I've seen some people put over AEW as a company that bring out the better side of the WWE well all say to that for now is let's allow them to form the foundation for the promotion before letting our hopes get in the way of what is really going on. It will take time and they are off to a great start, but we just need little bit of patience and I am sure we will be rewarded in the future.  

Last year I took a few weeks to put together a top 10 list going through the top wrestlers from the previous year. The list really broke down exactly why in my opinion these wrestlers actually belonged on the list or fell where they did on the list. Some names will show up on both this list and last years list and it is really possible that they are in the spot as last year too. Let's get to the list: 

Since his departure from WWE we have seen a different side of Cody Rhodes one that I think some people didn't even know existed. Cody has become an international superstar in the last two years and his association with The Elite/Bullet Club has only helped make him a bigger star. In reality New Japan gave him the stage and The Elite gave him a new identity. Starting a Wrestle Kingdom 12 with his underrated match against Kota Ibushi and then moving ahead to the developing rivalry between Omega & Cody. The first half of 2018 was a great year for Cody and then moving onto the second half of the year that is when it became very different. 

For the most part the last decade or so the WWE has been the only game in town for talent to be featured on a large scale. However, last September something happened that hadn't taken place in the world of wrestling since the days of WCW. On September 1, 2018 an independent wrestling event not only drew 10,000 people but sold out a 10,000 seat arena which is incredible. For Cody's part in that alone he belong on this list, but also the fact that he became NWA Worlds Champion at that event is another reason for him to be here. Also pointing out that for a time Cody was a double champion holding the IWGP United States Championship and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship at the same time. 

Now with the announcement of All Elite Wrestling it is clear that 2019 will be an even bigger year for The Elite than 2018 was and the real question what can they do next. Cody has shown that you don't need to be in WWE to be a major star anymore and he's taken advantage of the opportunity he was given & ran with it. Considering I will be talking about AEW a lot more in the coming weeks and months I thought that kicking off this section of the site with anything else would've been criminal as this is the perfect way to kick off the new section. Welcome to the age of "All Elite Wrestling!!"l