On the sixth anniversary edition of Dynamite, Andrade El Idolo returned to AEW, attacking Kenny Omega and appearing to join Don Callis’ ever-growing family. His appearance came a little over two weeks after he was released from WWE.
The question now is which other former WWE stars could be next to join AEW.
With AEW about to launch a new women’s tag team division, here are five more former WWE stars could be brought in to bolster the roster.
5. Dakota Kai
Dakota Kai was released from her WWE contract in May this year.
With her no-compete clause now up, the former member of prominent faction Damage CTRL has yet to surface in another promotion.
For several years, Kai – or Evie, as she was known on the indies prior to joining WWE – was considered one of the best female in-ring workers in North America, though she was arguably underutilised during much of her two runs with the company.
At 37 years old, she would be a hugely positive addition to AEW’s women’s roster – someone who could act as a legitimate challenger for either of the singles titles, as well as form a team to contend for the new women’s tag titles.
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4. Jazmyn Nyx
One of the more prominent news stories in pro wrestling in recent weeks has been Jazmyn Nyx’s departure from WWE.
The 27-year-old was featured prominently on NXT as a member of the Fatal Influence faction, but refused WWE’s offer to re-sign because she felt the money wasn’t enough.
During her NXT run, Nyx showed charisma – while still inexperienced in-ring, her skillset could potentially be further honed in another company like AEW.
Leaving WWE allows her to explore new opportunities – but could one of them be joining AEW?
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3. Priscilla Kelly
Priscilla Kelly, formerly known as Gigi Dolin, was another NXT star released from her WWE contract in May.
The 28-year-old wasted no time getting back to her roots in independent wrestling, working a frantic schedule across many of the top US indies since her no-compete ended in June.
Alongside her indie appearances, she recently returned to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling at their WrestlePrincess VI show on September 20, where she had a standout bout against Arisu Endo for the International Princess Title.
With AEW’s past relationship with Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling – and Kelly coming off a prominent role in NXT – there seems to be every chance she appears in AEW sooner rather than later.
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2. Lacey Lane
Another release WWE made in May was Kayden Carter.
Reassuming her original ring name, Lacey Lane, she has already appeared for AEW’s sister promotion Ring of Honor, recently challenging Mina Shirakawa for the Interim Women’s Television Championship.
The 37-year-old was completely underutilised in WWE, despite being both a talented in-ring performer and a charismatic presence.
Clearly someone AEW CEO Tony Khan has his eye on, there seems a strong chance she’ll be getting that #AllElite graphic sooner rather than later.
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1. Shayna Baszler
Two-time NXT Champion Shayna Baszler was one of the more surprising WWE releases of the year.
With some indie dates scheduled, Baszler has yet to re-sign with a major promotion (despite appearing at NXT Homecoming), but given her name value it seems inevitable that will happen before long.
Baszler is good friends with AEW’s Marina Shafir, and given their shared background as pro-MMA fighters – part of the Four Horsewomen of MMA – the two would make a natural shoot-style tag team.
With AEW’s new women’s tag division on the horizon, Baszler appearing in the promotion and joining Shafir in the Death Riders makes all the sense in the world.
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