One of the big stories that got lost in the Tessa Blanchard scandal last weekend was the news of Brian Cage signing with All Elite Wrestling.
The rumor, since denied by both Cage and his wife, Melissa Santos. But usually, when there is smoke there is fire when it comes to these types of rumors.
Cage would be a huge pick up for AEW, coming off the great news that they have been picked up till 2023. Many have claimed that AEW needs bigger guys and you'd be hard pressed to find a bigger overall dude that Cage. He has that PWG pedigree and seems to be a genuinely good dude.
One has to consider 2019 a disappointing year for Cage. Sure, he finally captured the Impact World title - a match in which he suffered an injury that really, effectively, put a slow down on any steam he'd had prior to the title win.
Cage was only able to defend the title a handful of times, leading to the culmination of dropping the title to Sami Callihan after a lackluster feud. I think healthy, we'd be seeing a much different Impact Wrestling right now.
Cage and Santos have gone on record saying he hasn't signed, but signing with AEW makes a lot more sense to me than heading to WWE. I think Cage in WWE gets lost in the mix. He's big and has a good look, but I don't feel like he'd stand out much with WWE. I don't think they'd know what to do with the very agile for his size Cage.
In AEW he could immediately jump into the the Cody/MJF/Wardlow situation, as he has history with Wardlow and would be a great addition to the Rhodes/Anderson group, if they so choose to build that into a stable.
They could also give him the "Goldberg" treatment and have him come in and decimate everyone, blazing through the rankings and putting him in the main event scene, something WWE would never do as it's policy it seems, to make new talent from different organizations look like total shit and then refurbish them.
I would really love to see a match with Kenny Omega and Brian Cage. That match alone could take Cage to a new level. Matches with Adam Page, Jon Moxley and Pac also jump off the screen for me.
One huge significance of this signing, however, is Cage would be the first real "Big" free agent signing since AEW took shape. With it looking like Killer Kross signing with WWE a sure thing, Cage is a pretty important signing. It's proof that AEW is looked at as a viable career alternative for the workers.