Photo credit: AEW

Omega-Danielson Rematch; WWE Draft Rumors; Adam Cole Talks AEW's Impact on NXT 2.0

Mike Chiari

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Omega vs. Danielson Rematch to Occur in Mexico?

A rematch between Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson seems virtually certain, but it may not be guaranteed that their next encounter will take place in AEW.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), AAA executive Dorian Roldan saw the match between Omega and Danielson on the Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite last week, and it gave him an idea.

Roldan reportedly wants to have Omega vs. Danielson on a AAA card, and it may not be outside the realm of possibility since Omega is the reigning AAA Mega champion.

Even dating back to his time in WWE, Danielson has always been outspoken about his dreams of wrestling in Mexico, specifically in a hair vs. mask match.

There is plenty of meat left on the bone in the Omega vs. Danielson feud since their first AEW match went to a time-limit draw.

Omega has since said he doesn't intend to give Danielson a rematch, although it will undoubtedly happen at some point. AEW Full Gear, which is scheduled for November, could be when the rematch occurs.

Doing Omega vs. Danielson either before or after that in AAA would be a great way to further their rivalry, however, and it would likely result in great publicity for both AEW and AAA.

Rumored NXT Names for WWE Draft

Night 1 of the WWE draft is scheduled for Friday night's episode of SmackDown, and there reportedly could be some surprising names included.

According to Meltzer (h/t Upton), there is internal belief within WWE that former NXT stars Dakota Kai, Aliyah and Xia Li will be part of the draft.

Meltzer noted that none of them have been seen on NXT recently, and all of them have worked dark matches before main roster shows during their NXT absences.

Kai is the biggest name of the group, as she was involved in several high-profile matches and feuds in NXT. That included vying for the NXT Women's Championship against former partner Raquel Gonzalez at NXT TakeOver 36 in August.

Aliyah's last NXT match was back in July when she and Jessi Kamea lost to Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter. Aliyah attacked Robert Stone after the match and it was assumed at the time that she was poised for a call-up.

Li's most recent NXT match was also in July when she unsuccessfully challenged Gonzalez for the NXT Women's Championship. Prior to that, Li had been a part of the Tian Sha stable with Mei Ying and Boa, but only Mei Ying and Boa have been seen on NXT over the past few weeks.

Meltzer added that WWE desires to build a Chinese star after seeing how China reacted to Zhang Weili holding the UFC women's strawweight championship. Because of that, Li could be in for a big push.

Kai, Aliyah and Li all bring unique skill sets to the table, and they will all add some much-needed depth to the Raw and SmackDown women's divisions if they have indeed been called up.

Cole Believes NXT 2.0 Was Born from AEW's Success

After four years with WWE as part of the NXT brand, Adam Cole left the company and made his AEW debut at All Out last month.

Cole and NXT went head to head with AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights for a period of time before NXT moved to Tuesdays.

Recently, NXT underwent a significant change, as it is now known as NXT 2.0. In addition to a new name and logo, NXT has clearly shifted its focus as well with younger, more inexperienced wrestlers getting the spotlight over veterans from the independent scene.

During an appearance on Talk Is Jericho with current AEW and former WWE star Chris Jericho (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Cole expressed his belief that AEW consistently scoring higher ratings than NXT led WWE to change NXT's presentation:

"This is all just me guessing. I think, for sure, [AEW beating NXT] played a part [in the rebrand]. I also understand the thought process of … there were so many guys in NXT who were presented a certain way and then they'd go to Raw or SmackDown and it was a complete 180. I see the standpoint of, if I am Vince McMahon, him looking at NXT as this breeding ground for guys on Raw and SmackDown, he wants his hands in it a little bit more and he wants bigger guys. Not saying everyone is going to be big, but more guys who are geared to be ready to go for Raw and SmackDown.
"I understand that. When I was there at NXT, it was treated as a third brand. We got on television because of it, we had the big Survivor Series month, which was really cool. It was the more athletic pro wrestling storytelling and style. Them going back to this, certainly, AEW has to play a factor in my mind. It just has to. More important, I do think it's so they don't have to change a thing about guys when they are in NXT now."

Cole is the longest-reigning NXT champion of all time with a reign lasting over a year, and he was one of the faces of the brand when it was at its highest point.

For a period of time, WWE was signing all of the hottest talent from the independent scene, as well as Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling, but its philosophy has clearly changed.

Now, AEW is signing independent talent, while WWE is signing amateur wrestlers and other athletes with the goal of building them into stars from the ground up.

That already seems to be paying dividends to some degree given that Bron Breakker is viewed as one of WWE's future top stars just a few weeks after debuting.

Cole undoubtedly felt AEW was the best fit for him given his background and skill set, although it would have been interesting to see what the former leader of Undisputed Era could have done on the WWE main roster as well.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: contains strong language).

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