Throughout AEW’s five year history, the promotion has seen some truly great talent enter the company. The promotion has seen these talents involved in truly excellent matches and storylines that have captivated fans. However, not everyone in AEW reached the fullest extent of their success while signed there. In fact, AEW has seen a few notable names jump ship to the company’s biggest rival, WWE.
As time goes on, there will surely continue to be AEW talent jumping to WWE and vice versa. That is just the nature of the professional wrestling business. But, as of right now, here is every talent that has been signed to AEW jump to WWE and how they have done so far.
8 Shawn Spears Hasn’t Done Much
Time In AEW: 2019-2023
| Notable AEW Accomplishments | None |
|---|---|
| Notable Accomplishments Since WWE Return | None |
Shawn Spears has a lot of experience in NXT. Before he joined AEW, he was signed to NXT and was also on the main roster for quite a bit of time. And while he started off well enough with his Perfect 10 gimmick, he never had a lot of success on the main roster of WWE. He floated around from feud to feud. In AEW, while he was initially a major signing, he eventually got lost in the shuffle as a background character.
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Spears’ time in NXT this time around has seen him gain some more notoriety. But, he still has not captured much success so far. While time will tell where he goes, he currently has had the weakest run of the AEW talent to go to WWE.
7 Blair Davenport Was Briefly In AEW
Time In AEW: 2019-2020
| Notable AEW Accomplishments | None |
|---|---|
| Notable Accomplishments Since WWE Debut | Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Winner (2023) |
You would be forgiven if you forgot that Blair Davenport spent some time early on in AEW before she signed with WWE in 2021. Her time in AEW was spent mostly feuding with Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. However, there was some controversy with this feud when Davenport concussed Baker during a match.
Davenport was released from AEW in 2020 due to her not being able to travel from Japan. In terms of her time spent in AEW and WWE, the latter has seen her display a ton of in-ring dominance and in the NXT Women’s Championship picture. She is currently on SmackDown, where she certainly has more room to grow and become a future champion.
6 Lexis King Has Finally Found His Identity
Time In AEW: 2019-2023
| Notable AEW Accomplishments | None |
|---|---|
| Notable Accomplishments Since WWE Debut | None |
Lexis King wanted to forge a path all his own when he signed to NXT. Formerly using the name Brian Pillman Jr., he was in a team with Griff Garrison in the Varsity Blonds and had a very brief feud with MJF. But, he was more often than not an enhancement talent that was never going to make it to the top of AEW.
In NXT, King has completely rebranded himself. He finally feels like he can be the singles star that he has the potential to be. And while it will take time for that, he has everything it takes to get there.
5 Andrade Could Be Doing More
Time In AEW: 2021-2023
| Notable AEW Accomplishments | None |
|---|---|
| Notable Accomplishments Since WWE Return | WWE Speed Champion |
| Previous WWE Accomplishments |
|
Andrade had a rough go at it in AEW. His debut severely underwhelmed and it seemed like AEW had no clue what to really do with him. His feud with Matt Hardy was pointless and there were long stretches of time where he was not present in AEW. So when he returned to WWE, it felt like he would finally get the run that WWE and AEW had squandered before.
So far, Andrade has done decently for himself. He won at WrestleMania 40 with Rey Mysterio. He recently had a great series of matches with Carmelo Hayes. In addition, he is the WWE Speed Champion. But, it feels like there is so much more that he could be doing.
4 Ethan Page Is Finally At The Top
Time In AEW: 2021-2024
| Notable AEW Accomplishments | None |
|---|---|
| Notable Accomplishments Since WWE Debut | NXT Champion |
In AEW, Ethan Page showed everything that it took to become a top-tier, main event worthy star. He has the look, the promo ability, and the move set. But, like others on this list, AEW seemed to not know what they had with Page. He was in and out of storylines. ROH seemed like they could have rebuilt him to become a world title contender, but they squandered that as well.
Page in NXT, however, is a totally different story. In only a matter of weeks after his debut, he won the NXT Championship. Page has skyrocketed to the place where he always should have been and there certainly is a bright path in his future.
3 Jade Cargill Is Evolving In WWE
Time In AEW: 2020-2023
| Notable AEW Accomplishments | AEW TBS Champion (1x) |
|---|---|
| Notable Accomplishments Since WWE Debut | WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion (2x w/Bianca Belair) |
Starpower is something that Jade Cargill has always had in spades. She was the inaugural and longest reigning TBS Champion in AEW history. Fans saw her grow right in front of their eyes as she built up a great undefeated streak. She undoubtedly had a great career in AEW and it will be remembered as such. However, it always felt like her character was perfect for WWE.
Cargill’s debut in WWE couldn’t have been more perfect. For months, fans wondered where she was going to step into the ring. Then, she had a great showing in the women’s Royal Rumble. She competed at WrestleMania in a match that helped make her look strong. So far, she and Bianca Belair have done great as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. And while a match with the two of them is inevitable, Cargill has shown that WWE is the right place for her.
2 CM Punk’s Return Shocked Fans
Time In AEW: 2021-2023
| Notable AEW Accomplishments | AEW World Champion (2x) |
|---|---|
| Notable Accomplishments Since WWE Return | None |
| Previous WWE Accomplishments |
|
CM Punk’s return to WWE was something that nobody expected. Even after all of the drama that surrounded his time in AEW, it would have been hard to think back then that Punk would make his way back to WWE. However, that is exactly what happened. Punk returned to a thunderous ovation at Survivor Series 2023. And while he ended up getting injured, it allowed him to pursue a five-star program with Drew McIntyre.
Punk’s time in AEW has been documented thoroughly. While it was good for a bit, most of it was a disaster due to a lot of backstage politics. Punk is far better off in WWE, where he has been a major asset. He has been doing some of the best work of his entire career, and he will undoubtedly continue to be a major asset to the company in the years to come.
1 Cody Rhodes Finished The Story
Time In AEW: 2019-2022
| Notable AEW Accomplishments | AEW TNT Champion (3x) |
|---|---|
| Notable Accomplishments Since WWE Return |
|
| Previous WWE Accomplishments |
|
Was there ever any doubt who number one on this list was going to be? Cody Rhodes’ departure from AEW was a shock to the professional wrestling world. He left the company that he built from the ground up with The Young Bucks. But, in hindsight, his time in AEW always had this limit due to the fact that he was only ever able to challenge for the AEW World Title once. From there, many of his feuds felt repetitive.
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When he returned to WWE, Rhodes had finally shown that he was ready to be the star he knew he could be. After a two year saga with Roman Reigns, he “finished the story” and won the WWE Championship. Rhodes has been great in WWE and has essentially taken the position as the new face of the company. He is easily the best star to jump from AEW to WWE.
