Several former WWE stars have joined AEW since its launch in 2019, including 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 have been let go by the company and ended up in AEW, which is the world’s second-largest wrestling company.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that some former WWE stars who now work in AEW see the promotion as inferior 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 stated that they can’t wait to return to WWE because they see it as the major league if they receive an offer once their AEW contract expires.
Meltzer added, “And some asked for releases last year after Vince McMahon “retired” and Paul Levesque garnered a stronger role.”
