Who Else Could Follow Dragon Lee and Join WWE in 2023?

The much-hyped arrival of Dragon Lee to WWE has led to increased interest in the wrestling world as the Mexican luchador made the switch from the AAA Lucha Libre organization, but who else could join him there this year?

Cristiano Ronaldo

The arrival of a superstar from another sport could be a smart commercial move, and one name that’s been put forward is that of Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. The 37-year-old has endured a difficult time with Manchester United, which resulted in his contract there being terminated before the World Cup in Qatar. He’s said to be signing a new deal with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia for €75 million per season, but that hasn’t stopped WWE NXT wrestler Apollo Crews from suggesting that Ronaldo has the mentality to turn to wrestling once he retires from soccer.

He wouldn’t be the first soccer player to make this switch, although the likes of Tim Wiese and Grant Holt were far lower profile than the World Cup star. Interestingly, soccer was recently ranked as one of the top five sports that Americans look for streaming options on, as seen in this streaming research done by ExpressVPN. Wrestling isn’t listed in the top five sports, but it’s worth noting that UFC has achieved enough support to challenge the traditional sports on the list, so increasing a sport’s popularity is possible. In fact, the Conor McGregor effect suggests that a single, hugely popular fighter can make a big difference.

Jade Cargill and MFJ

While it seems unlikely that Cristiano Ronaldo becomes a pro wrestler, there are other possible candidates for a switch to WWE that might make more sense. Multiple world champion Booker T currently works as a wrestling commentator, and he suggested that current AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill could move over to WWE. As reported by TJR Wrestling, she spoke earlier in 2022 about how she chose AEW over WWE because their fighters get treated like athletes rather than numbers. Booker T said on his podcast that Cargill currently goes “under the radar” and that she could do well if she changed to the giant promoter.

Maxwell Jacob Freidman, known as MJF, is another wrestler that Booker T thinks could star in WWE bouts. He’s currently the AEW World Champion, having held onto the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring for the last four years in a row. MJF has stated in the past that there will be a big bidding war in 2024 when his AEW contract comes to an end and WWE looks to bring him in. In fact, he appeared on WWE Television once, with Digital Spy revealing that he played a security guard when Samoa Joe entered NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II.

There’s no doubt that WWE will continue to look for new stars to add to their roster. While it would be a major surprise if Cristiano Ronaldo started a wrestling career after retiring from soccer, it would be far less of a surprise if MJF and Jade Cargill followed in Dragon Lee’s footsteps and joined WWE in the next couple of years.