Since emerging as a viable alternative to WWE for performers, the “Go to AEW” movement has been loud and strong. When a performer leaves WWE for any of a host of reasons, fans typically take to online outlets to discuss where that talent should land next. Many of them point to AEW as the next step. While that isn’t the best move for everyone, some names have done well with that shift. Looking at the names who’ve made that move, here are the three most successful performers to leave WWE and turn up in AEW.
Swerve Strickland
Swerve Strickland should be one of the first names that come to mind when thinking about successful jumps from WWE to AEW. While in WWE, he had a ceiling that he wasn’t going to surpass, and none of that was due to his own abilities in or out of the ring. Fans consistently point out how inadequately Black male performers are used on the main roster, and there’s a lot of evidence to support that point. Even after being called up from NXT, Swerve was never truly given the opportunity to make a mark for himself and was quickly released after his SmackDown debut.
But in All Elite Wrestling, Swerve Strickland has reminded fans of who he was on the independent scene and set the tone for a huge future in the business. He earned the spot of being the first Black man to capture the AEW World Championship and has firmly taken his spot as a vital piece to AEW’s future. When he says “Whose house” the fans let him know that not only is this his house, but he’s home.
Toni Storm
Remember Toni Storm in WWE? Think back to the segments of Charlotte Flair hitting her in the face with a pie. Or her run on WWE NXT, where she never truly fit in. That came after her run in NXT UK, where she captured the women’s championship. Storm was never going to work in WWE because the company already had its women’s division in mind around a few specific performers. It is still surprising that names like Liv Morgan and Iyo Sky have found a way to push through to the top. Storm wasn’t going to get that opportunity, and it was clear from the jump.
In All Elite Wrestling however, Toni Storm has become one of the most important performers on the roster. Not only that, but she has put in the work that has helped move the women’s division forward across wrestling. Making the move to AEW may have saved Toni Storm’s career and helped her become an icon in the world of professional wrestling.
Jon Moxley
Jon Moxley is an interesting choice to add to this list. Not because he wasn’t already popular while in WWE. But because he was never going to be seen as popular as Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. He was seen as the “lesser” of the three members of The Shield. But leaving WWE to move to NJPW and AEW quickly cemented Moxley as one of the most important men in wrestling.
Moxley not only garnered success in AEW, but he’s also become the person that the company relies on when things aren’t going well. He turns the company around. He can be inserted into any role and build success like a role-player on a championship team. The saying fits. “As goes Jon Moxley, so goes AEW.”