4 stars who chose AEW despite WWE interest
AEW has, in recent years, emerged as a viable competitor to WWE's monopoly as a leading pro wrestling brand not just in the US, but also on a global scale. The so-called "war" between the two companies plays out very conspicuously in the field of talent acquisition.
To take one recent instance, WWE recently signed Stephanie Vaquer, even though All Elite Wrestling reportedly wanted to do the same, especially after her star-making performance against Mercedes Mone at Forbidden Door 2024. The promotion is also reportedly expected to add The Motor City Machine Guns to its roster, despite the legendary tag team supposedly being close to finalizing a deal with AEW according to a previous report.
Conversely, a number of wrestlers have recently opted to go All Elite despite receiving interest from the sports entertainment juggernaut. Let us consider four such stars who chose AEW over WWE.
#1: Jay White signed with All Elite Wrestling in 2023
Wrestling fans were buzzing about the future of Jay White after his NJPW run ended with a loss to Eddie Kingston in a Loser Leaves New Japan match at Battle in the Valley 2023. Many believed at the time that The Switchblade would be headed to World Wrestling Entertainment, especially after reports emerged citing Triple H's interest in signing the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
However, King Switch took a different path than what was expected, as he appeared on Dynamite later that year, joining Juice Robinson in his attack on former FTW Champion Ricky Starks. Tony Khan would officially announce White's AEW signing soon afterward. The 31-year-old star is currently one of the top stars of the promotion, having challenged MJF for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear 2023, and having formerly held the Unified World Trios Championships alongside The Gunns as a member of The Bang Bang Gang.
Notably, White had previously made appearances in All Elite Wrestling in 2022, and competed in the inaugural version of the promotion's cross-over pay-per-view with NJPW, Forbidden Door, retaining his IWGP World Heavyweight Title in a four-way match against Adam Cole, Hangman Page, and another one of his peers from New Japan, who is also the next entry on this list.
#2: Kazuchika Okada signed with AEW in 2024
Towards the end of 2023, it was reported that WWE was interested in signing NJPW's ace, Kazuchika Okada. The Stamford-based company was supposedly pushing former Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at the time to attract The Rainmaker and provide assurance about his booking, given the promotion's past history of what many feel of underutilizing its foreign talent. AEW was not idle regarding the matter, however, and around January 2024, the company was reportedly contemplating the idea of bringing in the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion to its roster in a full-time capacity.
All Elite fans were overjoyed when Kazuchika Okada made his debut officially as an AEW star and joined forces with The Young Bucks in March 2024. The move was not unexpected, considering that the 36-year-old star had appeared on Dynamite on multiple occasions prior to his signing, and even competed on the 2022 and 2023 editions of Forbidden Door, notably being submitted by Bryan Danielson on the 2023 iteration of the pay-per-view.
Okada is currently the reigning AEW Continental Champion and is set to defend the belt against Claudio Castagnoli of The Blackpool Combat Club at a future date.
#3: MJF bet on himself and re-signed with All Elite Wrestling
From the beginning of his AEW World Championship run, MJF emphasized his goal of leveraging his position at the top of the company to gain profitable offers from both All Elite Wrestling and WWE in the "bidding war of 2024". After losing his prized Triple-B to Samoa Joe and being betrayed by Adam Cole at Worlds End 2023, Friedman was removed from the All Elite roster page and from the company's merch shop. The Salt of the Earth went on a lengthy on-screen hiatus, which prompted speculations among fans and experts regarding his potential jump to the Triple H-led company.
However, MJF put all the speculations to rest when he made his return to AEW at Double or Nothing 2024, taking out Adam Cole and asserting his continued status as an All Elite star. During an interview this June, Friedman acknowledged that signing with WWE was a valid possibility, but stated that coming back to All Elite Wrestling was the most sensible choice for him.
Making his AEW comeback has already paid dividends, as MJF is currently the reigning American Champion - a belt he is set to defend at All In 2024 against the final entry of this list.
#4: Will Ospreay snubbed WWE and signed with AEW
Following the end of Will Ospreay's eight-year tenure in NJPW, fans were split on whether they wanted to see the former IWGP US Champion go to WWE or sign with AEW. World Wrestling Entertainment, it was reported in November 2023, was interested in signing Ospreay, and had supposedly made "preliminary overtures" to the latter. However, soon afterward, The Aerial Assassin showed up at Full Gear 2023 and revealed that he had penned a deal with All Elite Wrestling.
In recent interviews, Ospreay explained that he opted to sign with AEW instead of WWE because the former promotion enabled him to continue living in the UK, and because it was the best possible decision for the English star and for his family. Ospreay snubbing WWE led to several controversial exchanges taking place, with Triple H seemingly taking a shot at him on The Pat McAfee Show and The Commonwealth Kingpin firing back at The Game later on Dynamite over his supposed show of disrespect.
Will Ospreay is currently one of AEW's top stars. He is set to challenge MJF for the American Championship at All In 2024. The promotion has even platformed his real-life partner, Alex Windsor, on Rampage this year, including in a bout against Women's World Champion Toni Storm.