WWE has lost a number of major stars to AEW, but many of them are struggling to find a consistent ... [+]
AEW has established its dominance over NXT on Wednesday nights, but many ex-WWE stars who’ve jumped to the competition have had considerably less success.
There are, of course, exceptions to that. The lone two AEW World Champions thus far were both WWE Champions as well: Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose. Jericho has quickly cemented himself as the face of AEW and its most recognizable star, proclaiming himself the “Demo God” for the obvious role he’s played in AEW Dynamite consistently beating NXT in the viewership department week in and week out. Moxley, meanwhile, is in the midst of a lengthy title reign that is approaching half a year and has seen him dominate a slew of AEW’s biggest and best stars, including mega-heels like Brian Cage and Brodie Lee.
It’s no surprise that Jericho and Moxley, two Hall of Fame caliber performers and established top stars, have transitioned from a main event role in WWE to one in AEW. But even though AEW seemed to be the place where high-profile ex-WWE stars could revitalize their careers, that hasn’t exactly been the case for all of them.
Perhaps the most disappointing WWE-to-AEW star thus far has been Shawn Spears (a.k.a. Tye Dillinger), who was granted his request to be released by WWE early last year. While in WWE, Spears was a classic case of a star being underused and unable to break through that proverbial glass ceiling. Having first signed with WWE way back in 2006, it wasn’t until 2017 that he was permanently moved to the main roster when he was sent to SmackDown after developing a strong following in NXT, but he was woefully misused on the blue brand before ultimately getting his wish and being future-endeavored. The widespread belief was that Spears, one of the first marquee WWE-linked names to sign with AEW, would be used much better there, but that simply hasn’t been the case. Aside from brief feuds with Cody and Joey Janela, Spears has largely been absent from TV during his first year with AEW.
Spears, of course, isn’t the only former WWE midcarder who’s suffered a similar fate. The likes of Dustin Rhodes, a.k.a. Goldust, and Matt Hardy have struggled to make the impact that you might expect from two stars who would have been WWE Hall of Fame locks had they not jumped to AEW. In Rhodes’ case, his lack of consistent TV time isn’t necessarily a shocker—or a bad thing—because he’s a past-his-prime veteran who is there to work with more up-and-coming talent than anything else. Hardy, on the other hand, was expected to make a huge splash upon his arrival to AEW, and with the expectations set so high, even Hardy has agreed that he has failed to live up to them.
Hardy left WWE because he wanted more creative control of his character, and yet, the many faces of Hardy in AEW have largely fallen flat, something Hardy himself has admitted, though he did cite the crowd-less AEW shows as a reason why his “Broken” character hasn’t excelled the way he expected it to upon his arrival. Other ex-WWE stars have also been unable to capture the magic it looked like they would create in AEW, and though that’s been due to a myriad of circumstances resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Perhaps the best example of a former WWE name coming up short in AEW is the aforementioned Lee, who has a prominent role in the company but was instantly thrust into a top spot as Moxley’s No. 1 contender only to immediately lose to Moxley and fall back down the card.
Lee’s role as The Dark Order’s Exalted One, which has been criticized as a bad parody of Vince McMahon, has left a lot a lot to be desired and pigeonholed him in a heel midcard role, which is where he spent the majority of his WWE career. The Dark Order isn’t exactly the world’s most riveting stable, and Lee’s role as its leader has felt much more like a lateral move than a rise up the card. Even if he wins the TNT Championship when he faces Cody on next week’s Dynamite, that title is akin to the ceiling he reached in WWE, the Intercontinental Championship. Other former WWE behemoths, including Jake Hager and Lance Archer (who isn’t known for his work in WWE but did spend some time there), have also seen their momentum squashed by—ironically enough—losing to fellow ex-WWE stars, with Hager’s momentum coming to a screeching halt at the hands of Moxley and Archer running into a brick wall thanks to Cody.
In other words, virtually every major former WWE star not named Cody, Jericho or Moxley has had a rough go-round in AEW, some due to Covid-19-related travel issues (like PAC, a.k.a. Neville) and others because they simply haven’t been booked well, which is a growing trend for the company. While the jury is still out on new arrivals like FTR and Matt Cardona, who’s only signed with AEW short- term, the plight of many WWE-turned-AEW stars should serve as a cautionary tale that not every star who leaves WWE for AEW is really finding greener pastures elsewhere.
