Every Star To Jump From AEW To WWE, Ranked By WWE Success

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.

UPDATE: 2025/03/18 20:00 EST BY BENJAMIN VIEIRA

With AEW releasing names such as Malakai Black, Miro, and Rey Fénix, the consensus has been that these names will be heading to WWE. When AEW first started, there were a lot of names that were doing the opposite. But, as things have changed, wrestlers have been looking in the other direction. In the last couple of years, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Penta, Jade Cargill, and more have all either rejoined or joined the dominant powerhouse that is WWE. Many of these names have had varied degrees of success in the company as well. With all of that being said, here is every name that has jumped from AEW to WWE, so far.

10

Blair Davenport

Time In AEW: 2019-2020

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. However, she was released from WWE in February 2025.

9

Ricky Saints

TIme In AEW: 2020-2025

In AEW, Ricky Saints was one of the most underrated talents to ever perform for the promotion. For years, fans waited for him to have a breakout moment and become a singles champion. But, for whatever reason, that never ended up happening. This actually led to fans having a lot of frustration with AEW over their booking of him.

The minute that Saints was a free agent, WWE was quick to sign him. He debuted in NXT to tremendous fan fare. His subsequent debut match was impressive as well. However, he has not been on the black and silver brand for too long.

8

Lexis King

Time In AEW: 2019-2023

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. In 2024, he finally won his first major title as he beat Charlie Dempsy to win the NXT Heritage Cup for the first time.

7

Shawn Spears

Time In AEW: 2019-2023

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.

Spears’ time in NXT this time around has seen him gain some more notoriety. After years of playing second fiddle, he is finally being given the chance to grow. As the leader of Spears’ Crew, he has been dominating and helping other talents grow. He has also won some gold in his own right as well.

6

Andrade

Time In AEW: 2021-2023

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 a former WWE Speed Champion. But, it feels like there is so much more that he could be doing.

5

Ethan Page

Time In AEW: 2021-2024

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 should always have been and there certainly is a bright path in his future.

4

Penta

Time In AEW: 2019-2024

When WWE began showing vignettes of Penta on television, it was something that truly excited a lot of fans. He excelled in AEW, but it always felt like there was more that he was capable of doing, not just as a tag team competitor, but also as a singles star as well. In WWE, he has gotten that chance to shine.

In every match that Penta has competed in so far, he has done a truly extraordinary job. It is clear that WWE sees a lot in Penta as a future star. He was the Iron Man of the men’s Royal Rumble match in 2025, lasting the longest out of anyone. With his time in WWE just getting started, it will be great to see what he does in the years to come as a member of the WWE roster.

3

Jade Cargill

Time In AEW: 2020-2023

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. She also recently returned and is set for a major feud with Naomi after being out of action for a few months.

2

CM Punk

Time In AEW: 2021-2023

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

Time In AEW: 2019-2022

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.

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.