20 Former WWE Wrestlers Who Jumped to AEW

WWE has been the worldwide leader for professional wrestling for more than 40 years. In 2019 though, the landscape changed drastically with the arrival of All Elite Wrestling.

AEW, owned by Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan, has enjoyed five years of success so far, and has provided an alternative home for not just fans to watch high-level pro wrestling, but for performers to find new life as well. In fact, many major members of the AEW roster once spent time in WWE.

Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho has established himself as a timeless act across every major American professional wrestling promotion for more than 30 years, and his arrival to AEW was a big deal.

Jericho was revealed as a surprise debut at the company’s introductory press conference in January of 2019, and has been a staple of AEW programming since. The former WWE and World Heavyweight Champion was also the inaugural AEW World Champion, and was an integral piece of AEW’s launch to weekly television. At 53, he is still having matches on TV consistently.

Jon Moxley

Jon Moxley was once known as Dean Ambrose in WWE, where he was one of the biggest stars in the company. Ambrose was not just a former WWE Champion, but was also one-third of The Shield, maybe the most successful trios faction in WWE history.

Moxley left WWE in the spring of 2019, though, and jumped ship to AEW at its first pay-per-view Double or Nothing when he attacked Kenny Omega. Wrestling fans have seen a far more aggressive version of him since his WWE days, as he’s gone on to become a three-time AEW World Champion, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, and he even earned Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s ranking as No. 1 wrestler in the world in 2020.

Cody Rhodes

Currently, Cody Rhodes may be the biggest wrestling star in WWE. But without Rhodes, there would be no AEW.

Rhodes was an integral part of the formation of AEW alongside the other members of The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and “Hangman” Adam Page). His WWE departure in 2016 saw him hit the independent wrestling circuit looking for new challengers, and he immediately became a fixture on AEW TV upon launch. His run faced multiple creative hurdles, though, and he would end up returning to WWE in 2022, ultimately winning the WWE Championship in an emotional match at WrestleMania XL.

Bryan Danielson

Daniel Bryan had one of the most memorable WrestleMania moments ever, when he won two matches en route to becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XXX. Ten years later (under his real name), he’d close AEW All In 2024 as AEW World Champion at Wembley Stadium.

Danielson is viewed by many as one of the greatest pure professional wrestlers to ever step foot in a ring, and his success in both the WWE and AEW realms has cemented his legacy. He left WWE in 2021 after more than 11 years with the company, debuting at AEW All Out 2021. Since then, he has gone on to have some of AEW’s most acclaimed matches, as he approaches retirement from full-time performing in the near future.

Mercedes Moné

Mercedes Moné blazed trails as Sasha Banks in WWE, and is now looking to do the same in AEW.

Moné debuted in March of 2024 for AEW, and was immediately positioned in the TBS Championship picture. She would go on to win the belt shortly after, but she has a large shadow to work her way out of. Her run as Banks in WWE saw her headline WrestleMania 37, put on some of the best women’s matches in WWE history, and even earn a role in the hit Star Wars show The Mandalorian.

Sting

“The Icon” Sting is best known for his long tenure in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and then even perhaps his time with Total Nonstop Action (TNA). But Sting did have a short WWE run in 2014 and 2015 that saw him wrestle three matches, before eventually being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 and retiring.

Sting would come out of retirement in 2020 with AEW, forming a partnership with Darby Allin. He’d wrestle for nearly four years with the company, winning the AEW Tag Team Championship. He would retire for good at AEW Revolution in March, but continues to make occasional appearances on TV.

Adam Copeland

Adam Copeland, then known as Edge, was once considered a WWE lifer. He spent 23 years with the company, which included nearly a decade of retirement due to neck injuries. He’d return to the ring in 2020 and have a successful run, leaving WWE as a four-time WWE Champion, seven-time World Heavyweight Champion, and a Hall of Famer.

He’d debut in AEW in 2023, immediately igniting a feud with his lifelong best friend and former tag team partner Christian Cage. Copeland has won the TNT Championship twice since jumping to AEW, and despite suffering a leg injury in the summer of 2024, has performed at a high level at 50 years old.

Christian Cage

Cage also spent nearly a decade in retirement after a lengthy WWE run before jumping to AEW, though his move came first.

Cage returned to wrestling at the 2021 WWE Royal Rumble show, before signing with AEW shortly after. He is a two-time TNT Champion, former AEW Trios Champion, and carved out a space as one of the most hated characters on AEW TV. While they’re on opposing sides for now, it seems inevitable an Edge & Christian reunion could be in store at some point down the line in AEW.

Paul Wight

Paul Wight is another former world champion who seemed destined to be with WWE for the rest of his career.

Then known as the “Big Show,” he was with WWE from 1999 through 2021, where he established himself as one of the most famous big men in wrestling history. He would jump to AEW in February of 2021, where he’d take on an ambassador role with the company. In this position, he would occasionally wrestle, while doing commentary on several shows as well. He has wrestled six matches altogether in AEW since his debut as of September of 2024.

Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy was one of the first names to jump from WWE to AEW as an active competitor, and he was positioned in a prominent spot right away.

Hardy returned to his memorable “Broken Matt” character upon debuting in AEW during the first week of the pandemic-era shows in March of 2020, eventually siding with The Elite in their Stadium Stampede match against Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle. Hardy would perform as a singles act until his brother Jeff eventually debuted in 2022. He would leave AEW in the spring of 2024, going back to TNA under the “Broken Matt” moniker once again.

Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy was once one of WWE’s most popular attractions, both as a singles star and in a tag team with Matt. He would join his brother in AEW in the spring of 2022 after departing WWE the previous fall. The former WWE Tag Team Champions seemed destined to capture AEW gold, but a DUI arrest took him off TV for nearly a year.

Though he would return in 2023, the Hardys never again would be positioned consistently on AEW TV. He would leave the company not long after Matt did, also going over to TNA to reform The Hardys.

Mark Henry

“The World’s Strongest Man,” Mark Henry was with WWE from 1996 through 2021, and earned induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018. That didn’t mean Henry wasn’t open to other opportunities, though.

Henry would sign with AEW in 2021, where he’d take on a variety of roles for the company. He was used as a recruiter for potential talent, on commentary when AEW Rampage launched, and in other positions as well. Henry would never wrestle for AEW, and left the company amicably in 2024. His last match to date took place in 2018 with WWE.

Samoa Joe

A slew of injuries may have prevented Samoa Joe from reaching his full potential in WWE, but he has more than lived up to the hype in AEW.

Joe was with WWE from 2015 through 2022, and was thought to be one of the most elusive signings of his era before he finally debuted. He’d win the NXT Championship multiple times, and found a fair share of singles success on the main roster, but his run was cut short due to multiple injuries. Joe would sign with AEW in 2022 shortly after his WWE release, and eventually become AEW World Champion at Worlds End in December 2023.

Adam Cole

Adam Cole seemed destined for WWE superstardom after a successful run in NXT from 2017 through 2021. He never got the chance to his the main roster, however.

Instead, Cole debuted alongside Bryan Danielson at AEW All Out in 2021, a shocking appearance that remains one of the company’s most discussed moments. His run in AEW has been marred by several severe injuries, including an ankle injury that has sidelined him for a year.

FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)

Many viewed Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler as two of the most underrated tag team specialists to ever wrestle for WWE. The Revival enjoyed five-star matches in NXT, but rarely had an opportunity to show their potential on a larger stage.

Upon arriving to AEW though, Dax and Cash found an environment much more conducive to their old-school style. They won the AEW Tag Team Championship twice, and put on a legendary feud with The Briscoes in the AEW-owned Ring of Honor that saw them put on three matches that will go down as some of the greatest in tag team history.

Toni Storm

“Timeless” Toni Storm has become one of AEW’s most prominent TV characters, and spent much of 2024 as AEW Women’s Champion. She arrived in 2022, and spent much of the last year and a half reinventing herself into a take on a Hollywood movie star gone mad.

Prior to that, though, she spent 2017 through 2021 with WWE, primarily working in NXT and NXT UK. While popular with crowds, she didn’t achieve the level of success she has enjoyed in AEW so far.

Dustin Rhodes

It’s hard to imagine the former Goldust breaking out beyond the limitations of his WWE character, but Dustin Rhodes has enjoyed a career revitalization in AEW.

Even though his WWE run was Hall of Fame-worthy, Dustin joined his brother Cody in AEW for the inaugural Double or Nothing show. The two wrestled one another, and delivered an all-time classic (and bloody) match. Dustin is the oldest active member of the AEW roster, and is still performing weekly on TV with no signs of slowing down.

Brodie Lee

Brodie Lee carved out a memorable legacy as Luke Harper during his time in WWE, where he was part of the legendary Wyatt Family faction.

He would eventually request his WWE release though, and end up in AEW in 2020. Lee would lead the Dark Order stable into a revitalization period, where he’d have classic battles with Jon Moxley and Cody Rhodes. Unfortunately, we never had a chance to see his full potential with the company, as he tragically died in December of 2020 after battling a respiratory illness.

Swerve Strickland

Swerve Strickland looked like a layup for success in WWE, quickly climbing the NXT ranks with his Hit Row stable and onto the main roster in 2021.

A sudden release from the company in the fall of that year would allow him to jump to AEW, though, in the spring of 2022, where he would enjoy immediate tag team success with fellow former WWE wrestler Keith Lee. His big break would come in 2023, though, as Swerve climbed the ranks of the AEW’s singles division, leading to him ultimately becoming AEW World Champion at AEW Dynasty in April of 2024.