At All In Texas, the main event sees Hangman Adam Page take on Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship in a Texas Death Match.
The odds are that this will be the moment Moxley’s near-300-day reign as champion comes to an end — a run that’s seen the leader of the Death Riders as the company’s top heel.
A loss could see Moxley take a break from AEW, leaving a major gap at the top of the card.
Here are six AEW stars who could step up and become the promotion’s new top heel.
6. Bobby Lashley
There was some initial suggestion that bringing in the Hurt Syndicate was risky — their WWE history led to the notion AEW fans may have rejected the group.
Instead, they’ve become one of the most over acts in the company, with Bobby Lashley presented as a near-unstoppable monster.
Aside from the multi-man beatdown on the All In go-home Dynamite, Lashley has been booked incredibly strong – some have argued too strong.
We could see him ascend to the top of the card as AEW’s first true dominant big-man monster heel — a role the company hasn’t really capitalised on until now.
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5. Swerve Strickland
If not the top babyface in the company, Swerve Strickland inarguably sits in the pantheon with Hangman Adam Page and Will Ospreay — however, storyline progression could very well see him take on the role of top heel.
At All In Texas, he and Ospreay take on The Young Bucks with the stipulation that if they lose, they cannot challenge for the AEW World Title for a full year — a condition Ospreay agreed to.
It’s easy to imagine AEW going in the direction of a loss, with Swerve blaming Ospreay and eventually turning on him.
Of all the options currently in play, there’s serious potential that Swerve ascends to the role of top company heel before the year is out.
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4. “Switchblade” Jay White
Jay White is no stranger to the responsibility of being a company’s top heel – it is a role that he has previously excelled in.
In the post-Kenny Omega era of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, White took control of Bullet Club and became the top heel star in the company – which was at the time the second biggest promotion in the world.
Uniquely charismatic and intractably hateable — with a moveset that complements these qualities — Switchblade has the ability to ascend to the role of AEW’s top heel.
The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer recently noted how highly AEW CEO Tony Khan rates Jay White as a performer — as a result, Switchblade could very well be the choice to replace Jon Moxley as the company’s top heel.
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3. Ricochet
It could be argued that Ricochet made something of a slow start following his AEW debut — with some fans feeling he wasn’t quite the Ricochet of old, the one who tore it up on the indies and in NXT.
Perhaps that was an unfair assessment — nevertheless, few would argue his heel turn hasn’t been a massive success, completely reinventing his persona and becoming arguably the company’s most detestable character, all while delivering outstanding in-ring performances.
Given the success of this reinvention, the question now becomes: how far can this character go?
As a heel, perhaps we could see Ricochet propelled all the way to the top of the AEW card.
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2. Rush
In all of pro-wrestling, it would be a stretch to find a single performer — male or female — more of a natural heel than Rush.
Such is his charisma — which radiates like a forcefield around him — that it’s difficult to imagine he isn’t a terrible human being outside the ring.
As a heel, he’s the complete package: vicious and intense, with a hard-striking offence that perfectly complements his snarling persona.
While it may seem unlikely – given his current mid-card role – arguably no one would be a more effective replacement for Jon Moxley as top heel in the company than Rush.
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1. Kyle Fletcher
The past 12 months have witnessed the exponential rise of Kyle Fletcher.
Turning his back on long-time stablemate Will Ospreay at WrestleDream saw Fletcher emerge as an accomplished and detestable heel — exuding such arrogance he begs to be punched in the face.
Alongside his impossible-not-to-hate persona, he’s become one of the top in-ring performers in the world, as shown through spectacular feuds with both Ospreay and Mark Briscoe.
There’s little doubt he’s being groomed for a top heel role — the question is, does AEW pull the trigger now and have the 26-year-old replace Jon Moxley?
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