Several Former WWE Talents Considered AEW A Step Down

Over the last few years, fans have seen a sea of wrestlers flocking from WWE to AEW, whether that be due to releases, personal choice, or something more. The likes of Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo, Miro, The Hardys, Keith Lee, Adam Cole, and countless more are all WWE alumni who set their sights on AEW. 

Whilst many of these names have had great success, and although AEW has cemented itself as the biggest “number two” promotion since WCW ended, a report from Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has indicated that some talents don’t necessarily see working in AEW as a positive. In fact, he revealed that believed it to be a “step down”. 

He went on to explain how certain wrestlers are waiting to go back to WWE, “There are several that you get the impression that they can’t wait to get back to WWE, see it as the major league, if they can get an offer when their AEW deal expires. And some asked for releases last year after Vince McMahon “retired” and Paul Levesque garnered a stronger role.”

Thus far, only the likes of Cody Rhodes and Jade Cargill have made the move from AEW to WWE.