What's Next for Baron Corbin, Indi Hartwell, Tegan Nox and More WWE, AEW Quick Takes

WWE fans aren't alone in feeling Montez Ford is being underutilized as a tag team player right now when he could be involved in something much more meaningful.

Ford's recent interview with Lewis Browning of the Daily Mail revealed the multi-time tag team champion has long been ready for the next serious step in his career. Despite that, WWE has continued to have him fly under the radar without attempting to take a chance on him as a singles star.

All Elite Wrestling's Orange Cassidy has also been overdue for a drastic change of pace in his career, and as seen recently on AEW TV, he could finally be evolving into a main event-level performer.

The former international champion is seemingly first up for a shot at Jon Moxley's AEW World Championship at Full Gear. He's been positioned at the forefront of the locker room's war with Moxley's crew and is the perfect person to serve as the heart and soul of the promotion.

This installment of Quick Takes will tackle Cassidy's character development, an unlikely challenger for Gunther, what's next for WWE's latest releases, and more.

Baron Corbin, Indi Hartwell and Tegan Nox were all effectively fired from WWE last Friday after lengthy stints with the company.

Nox hadn't been used on WWE TV in many months but never received a proper opportunity to showcase her skills on the main roster. Significant injuries halted her momentum while in NXT, but more could have been done to get her over with the audience on Raw or SmackDown.

Hartwell had much more of a presence on programming before her departure and wrestled as recently as Friday's SmackDown in a losing effort. She and Nox would be valuable additions to any women's division once their non-compete clauses expire, specifically TNA.

Corbin's release was a bit more baffling as he's always been someone WWE has found a role for on the show. His fantastic return to NXT should have amounted to more on the main roster, but now he can take his talents to a platform such as TNA if he decides to continue pursuing wrestling.

The AEW roster is stockpiled with stars at the moment, so going almost anywhere else would give them their best chance of starting fresh and creating a buzz for themselves.

A Fatal 4-Way involving Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio, Sheamus and Seth Rollins on the Nov. 3 edition of Raw will determine Gunther's next challenger to the World Heavyweight Championship.

It has yet to be officially announced that the title match will be saved for Survivor Series. Thus, it's possible it could happen on Raw before then and The Ring General will have a different opponent at the pay-per-view on Nov. 30.

Damian Priest is expected to go over following his face-off with Gunther backstage on Raw two weeks ago. Still, with Mysterio on the rise again, he would be a better filler challenger for the champion right now.

Gunther and Priest have unfinished business from SummerSlam where the former beat the latter to win the world heavyweight title. Priest subsequently set his sights on The Judgment Day, but after getting revenge on Finn Bálor at Bad Blood, it makes sense for the two to rekindle their rivalry.

However, Mysterio scoring an upset victory over Priest last week on Raw puts him in prime position to battle Gunther if he can reign supreme in the No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way as well.

He'll have no legitimate shot against Gunther, of course, but it would be an attraction regardless and make for a fun main event on Raw in the coming weeks if WWE does decide to go in that direction.

AEW's tag team division has long been in less-than-stellar shape due to a lack of depth and interesting storylines.

For as talented of a tandem as The Young Bucks are, The Elite's attempted hostile takeover of the company put them and the AEW World Tag Team Championship on the back-burner.

The Bucks have had their fair share of excellent matches this year, but dropping the belts to Private Party on the Fight Night edition of Dynamite was the ultimate way to pass the torch and elevate the division as a whole.

Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Bucks are expected to be away from AEW TV for the remainder of the year. Returning to be the saviors of AEW against Jon Moxley's group of mercenaries is far from the most compelling direction they can go in. Still, in their absence, new champs Private Party have the chance to breathe new life into the stagnant division.

Their win was well-received, and everything about the moment was massive, but the immediate follow-up will be crucial, particularly when it comes to working with teams that matter. Private Party are finally where they belong but they need legitimate competition for their reign to be relevant.

If that can be accomplished, then the division could become a focal point of AEW programming again with Private Party at the helm.

The Street Profits have been an incredibly successful tandem for over seven years, but fans always expected there to come a point when Montez Ford would branch off on his own into the singles ranks.

That wouldn't and doesn't necessarily have to mean a split for the Profits is in order, but both men should've been given more opportunities to shine individually by now. They were showcased as singles stars during the road to WrestleMania in 2023 before quickly returning to the tag team ranks where they've remained ever since.

The dissolution of their stable with Bobby Lashley should have automatically resulted in a renewed singles push for Ford, but that didn't materialize. They've instead been relegated to pointless tag team matches on SmackDown and coming up short whenever gold is up for grabs.

Ford's public expression of frustration should ideally be incorporated into his character and allow him to show what he can do.

His above-average skills as both a wrestler and a talker, combined with his charisma, make it all the more puzzling why WWE hasn't already capitalized on him as a breakout singles star.

In many ways, Orange Cassidy is the heart and soul of AEW and a strong choice to lead the locker room in the ongoing war with Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, PAC and Marina Shafir.

He's essentially an AEW O.G. and one of the best homegrown stars the company has created, yet only now is he on the verge of breaking through to the next level with serious character development that's been long overdue.

The comedic nature of Cassidy's character will make it difficult for many to see him as a viable threat to the AEW World Championship. Still, AEW is doing everything right regarding evolving his persona and building an eventual match between him and Moxley as a must-see main event.

Cassidy was arguably at his highest point while feuding with Moxley in late 2023 over the AEW International Championship. Moxley brings the best out of Cassidy any time they've collided and will be the one who helps establish the 40-year-old as an upper-midcard fixture following a rather eventful 2024.

Cassidy may never be world champion material, but he is the best person for Moxley's group to target at this stage of the storyline to ensure its success.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.