WWE and AEW Stars in Danger of Being Buried

With the Thanksgiving and winter holiday seasons approaching fast, the wrestling industry is in full swing with new pushes, elite championship runs and marquee storylines.

While there is a litany of talented performers thriving right now, capitalizing on wrestling's current mainstream momentum, several names in WWE and All Elite Wrestling are in danger of falling out of favor.

Whether it's a lack of support behind the scenes, the possibility of jumping ship or just an overall ineptitude in terms of consistent booking, some talented performers could be left behind.

Here are the performers in WWE and AEW at risk of being buried.

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Austin Theory

With reports swirling about Vince McMahon and the lack of input he now has with WWE Creative, there is a natural concern that one of his favorites, Austin Theory, will fall out of favor with Triple H and Co.

Since losing the United States Championship in August, the 26-year-old has been an afterthought, bouncing from meaningless feud to random match. Thankfully, though, he and Grayson Waller have formed a promising partnership.

The problem is how much confidence the people backstage have in Theory, as he was McMahon's pet project on and off screen.

After fighting John Cena at WrestleMania 39 and winning one of the company's top titles, being relegated to a comedic tag team and used as fodder for other performers does not offer confidence for the future.

There is no doubt Theory is incredibly talented and there is still plenty of time for him to come good. Unfortunately, it's also clear that his momentum has stalled and he has moved down the company's priority list.

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Ricky Starks

After beating FTR for the AEW Tag Team Championships alongside Big Bill, Ricky Starks will continue to be a highlight of weekly programming, but it may be fool's gold.

After watching two of his best friends in the industry—Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill—make the jump to WWE, speculation has run rampant that the 33-year-old will be the next to make the leap to the opposing brand.

While Tony Khan may be doing everything he can to convince the future world champion to stay with his company, the bright lights of WWE may be too much for Starks to ignore. That could result in being buried from a booking perspective in his final months with AEW.

If Starks is honest and shares his intent to go to WWE, then Khan will have no choice but to remove him from all major programs and use him as a tool to get other performers who are staying with the company over before his departure.

Starks is one of the brightest young stars in the business, but he may be finishing 2023 on a down note if Khan and the AEW creative team find out he plans to jump ship.

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Asuka

Since losing the WWE Women's Championship at SummerSlam, Asuka has been putting on elite matches against the company's top female performers, but she always walks out of the building with nothing to show.

While her face paint has changed and her in-ring style has evolved, Asuka's character has remained essentially the same, and a lack of storyline development has killed any momentum she created with her personality shift.

Throughout Asuka's career, she has been plagued with inconsistent booking and a lack of depth for her character, two things she desperately needs.

While the multi-time champion always performs admirably in the ring—whether in Triple Threat championship matches or in NXT making younger talent look elite—she has never been given a spotlight to shine on her own abilities.

With the debut of Jade Cargill and the likely infusion of female talent to the main roster from NXT, fans are left wondering if The Empress of Tomorrow will be used as anything more than the gatekeeper for the next generation.

Asuka deserves so much more than that, and while she still could help put over the younger performers, WWE owes her better storylines and a character the fans can get behind.

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