Since AEW’s inception in 2019, some of its biggest stars have been those who came directly from WWE.
Names like Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole arrived with huge fanfare – both debuting on the same night at the historic All Out 2021.
Some have flourished — Swerve Strickland, released by WWE, has become a legitimate top-tier main eventer — while others have floundered, like Miro and Malakai Black, whose eyes seemingly were always set on a return to WWE.
So who will be next to make the jump – and will they succeed if they do? Here are six current WWE stars who could make the move to AEW.
6. Natalya (Nattie Neidhart)
This year has seen veteran Natalya appear outside of WWE, working several indie shows for the likes of GCW, the NWA and ROW, as well as appearing on WWE’s Evolve brand, wrestling with indie talent on ID contracts.
Her desire to wrestle regularly is clear, though WWE’s willingness to let her do so is more questionable, with her recent Raw appearances mostly limited to backstage segments alongside Maxxine Dupri.
A move to AEW when her contract expires could finally allow her to fulfil that desire.
Regular matches across AEW and ROH could help strengthen and deepen the women’s divisions — especially if AEW finally pulls the trigger on introducing women’s tag titles.
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5. Tyler Bate
Amazingly, Tyler Bate has been with WWE since the beginning of 2017, when he won the inaugural United Kingdom Championship Tournament.
Yet, eight years on, few workers have been as underutilised – his time in the company has borne little fruit despite his immense in-ring talent.
Still only 28, Bate is a supremely gifted performer who would undoubtedly make significant waves if he were to jump to AEW.
If things don’t change, fans could soon begin to wonder what might have been.
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4. Otis
The curse of being funny has followed Otis – defining his WWE run much like it has others Vince McMahon found amusing and saddled with limiting gimmicks.
He once looked set for a serious push after surprisingly winning the 2020 Money in the Bank match, only to lose the briefcase to The Miz before he even got the chance to cash it in.
Though he’s found some value in the lower-mid card as a comedy act, his charisma and athleticism have been largely underutilised.
Otis may not be a game-changing star if he left, but AEW should definitely kick the tyres – he’d bring something rare to their roster: a bruising athletic big man.
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3. Pete Dunne
Another performer who has gone underutilised during his WWE run is Pete Dunne.
In-ring, there are few with the technical skill of the 31-year-old Brit; yet, the peak push of his eight-and-a-half-year run has been a repackaging as ‘Butch’ in Sheamus’ Brawling Brutes faction on SmackDown.
Now reunited with long-time partner/rival Tyler Bate as The New Catch Republic, their matches have been quickly relegated to C-level show Main Event.
Whether arriving as a tag team with Bate or as a singles star, Dunne would undoubtedly be a significant pick-up for AEW.
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2. Candice LeRae
Candice LeRae is another performer who appears only sporadically on WWE’s flagship programming.
Now a member of the SmackDown roster, she has competed in just five matches so far this year.
An archetypal sympathetic babyface, she has often been miscast in a heel role during her WWE run.
At 39, there are plenty of fresh matchups for LeRae in AEW and ROH – where she would undoubtedly be given more emphasis.
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1. Karrion Kross
Karrion Kross has recently been making waves in the pro-wrestling world.
Publicly expressing frustration with his role in WWE, his online campaign has paid off – earning strong crowd reactions and a high-profile match with Sami Zayn at the recent Night of Champions PLE.
The 39-year-old’s contract is reportedly up this summer.
If he does walk when his WWE deal expires, AEW could very well pick him up given his current popularity.
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