When looking back at the weird period of time between the launch of AEW and Paul “Triple H” Levesque‘s elevation to CCO of WWE, one of the biggest “What ifs” has to be the absolute fumbling of the Undisputed Era.
Once considered the top faction in all of WWE developmental, with the potential to become a top-tier collective on the main roster not too dissimilar to factions of the past like the NWO, DX, or even a certain NJPW faction that once called Adam Cole a member, the fearsome foursome that also featured Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong slowly but surely left the promotion one by one to become members of AEW, even if the quartet never actually shared the screen for Tony Khan's company.
So what gives? Did WWE just never see the group as main roster-worthy? Or did they simply come around at the wrong time, when Vince McMahon almost looked at Levesque's work as antagonistic, as opposed to a true, blue darn system? Well, according to Fish, there were talks of bringing the entire group up to the main roster, it just sort of didn't work out.
”There were definitely times that it was discussed. How earnest those discussions were, I don’t know. Again, above my pay grade. I wasn’t privy to that side of it, but I know conversations were had. I know that the stuff that we did on RAW and SmackDown, and with Survivor Series and whatever, it was all well received. The segment we did with Hunter on RAW I know went well, and then when we jumped The New Day and I don’t remember what their name was … FTR … I feel like all those segments were well received,” Bobby Fish told Steve Fall of WrestlingNewsCo via Wrestling Inc.
“And I think that people just didn't want to see us break up. They didn't want to see us not together. I think that speaks to some of Hunter's, for lack of a better term, brilliance in putting us together. None of us were the biggest guys in the world, but we could all work. We all brought similar talents but were unique in our own ways.”
Would it have been cool to see the Undisputed Era on the main roster? In a word, yes; UE was the true highlight of NXT during their era together, and there were an incredible number of interesting storylines the promotion could have explored for the group on RAW or SmackDown, especially once Levesque came to power. Alas, it just wasn't meant to be.
Bobby Fish discussed why Undisputed Era never feuded with The Elite.
Alright, so if the Undisputed Era were never able to become main roster stars in WWE and instead had to take their talents to AEW, fans were at least afforded a feud with The Elite – Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, and the Young Bucks – right? Well, while the individual members of the group were able to wrestle one another in AEW and before the promotion even existed, no, a feud never actually happened, as Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly both suffered major injuries before Roderick Strong signed with the promotion and Bobby Fish was allowed to become a free agent when he couldn't agree to a new contract.
Discussing this missed opportunity over the summer, when Strong was still kicking it as a member of NXT‘s Diamond Mine, Fish noted that he believes that AEW left money on the table, as their feud could have been incredible.
“Yeah, the plans were always something between the group of us, some version of Adam, me, Kyle, Roddy if he ever became available and then there was Matt and Nick who we already knew we had such chemistry with, and Kenny. And Kenny and Adam are great foils for each other and like there was just, you know, the things that made sense. They made sense, and I think everybody even without talking about it knew kind of where we were headed,” Bobby Fish stated via Fightful.
“Tony books the show, and I’m sure he had that long-term as well. I believe he did, I can’t speak for the man. But things happen, variables get in the way and sometimes, you know, I mean pro wrestling sometimes things don’t work out the way you plan and a booker has to roll with those punches especially. So we got close to some stuff and then we were still waiting on things and then injuries and then other things. And then contracts come up and, you know, really all it came down to with me and AEW was we couldn’t agree on a number going forward. We couldn’t agree on not even a number, we couldn’t agree on numbers so like we’re talking everything that would be in a contract and we tried, you know. And my agent at the time who knows their lawyers, they tried, but we just couldn’t come to an agreement. And so, you know, I don’t overvalue myself, but I do value myself, and I’m not going to be, I’m not gonna to shortchange myself. So other people can, but I’m not going to devalue myself and that’s kind of where we were so yeah, I walked, you know, and that was it. It was amicable, I mean they were like, ‘Okay well yeah we’re not gonna’ and I said, ‘Okay I’m not gonna either’ so yeah.”
Would it have been cool to see a long-lasting feud between the Elite and the Undisputed Era, featuring Blood and Guts, Stadium Stampedes, or even Anarchy in the Arena matches? You bet but hey, just because it didn't happen yet doesn't mean it's off the table; once everyone is back to full health, TK's a call to Fish away from getting things back on track.
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