Since the launch of AEW in 2019, there have been several former WWE stars to join the rival promotion, most notably Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, The Hardys, Swerve Strickland, Miro, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Adam Cole, and many more.
Some have left WWE to do this, while others were let go by the promotion and ended up in AEW, as the promotion is the second-largest wrestling company in the world.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that there are some former WWE stars who now work in AEW that see the promotion as less than compared to WWE.
Meltzer wrote, “But even more is the question of whether they will not be a negative in other ways. A lot of ex-WWE talent went to AEW and saw it as a step-down, and even though some of them have been pushed, they haven’t really helped the company although they still may.”
Several other stars have given the impression that they can’t wait to get back to WWE as they see it as the major league if they receive an offer once their AEW deal is up.
Meltzer added, “And some asked for releases last year after Vince McMahon “retired” and Paul Levesque garnered a stronger role.”
