Wait... what???? you dont want to expose your roots to the air/oxygen....hahaha.....thats a good one....
Thats why you let the soil dry out inbetween waterings....so your roots get air...even hydro growers have to add air/oxygen to the water for the roots
you dont need to freshly water your soil first...that makes your rootball alot heavier ....now your pulling more weight out of the potter
Dry or slighty damp is the way to roll.
Water your plant heavy the first time after transplanting so the rootball and surrounding soil gets drenched
Right after you heavily water your freshly transplanted rootball.... LIGHTLY press down on the rootball to seat it....then press the soil around the rootball down lighty too.... you dont want air pockets around your ball
I transplant every 12-14 days... starting in a cup.... ending in a 12 inch potter
This plant has been out of the potter about 4-5 hours... no harm