5 Current AEW stars who rejected WWE contracts
AEW came into being around two years ago, with its first show. 'Double Or Nothing', ending up being a major success. The promotion had started signing top talents from the USA and around the world a long time before they came up with their very first event. Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega were two of the top stars that AEW signed to a contract early on.
AEW also signed Dustin Rhodes to a deal quickly after he parted ways with WWE. He eventually had a banger with his brother Cody at AEW Double Or Nothing. Over the past two years or so, All Elite Wrestling has been doing well for itself, and AEW Dynamite has been dominating WWE NXT in weekly ratings ever since, minus a few exceptions.
In this list, we will take a look at five AEW stars from the current crop, who were once approached by WWE, but they ended up rejecting offers from Vince McMahon's promotion.
#5 Kenny Omega provides reason why he decided to sign with AEW over WWE and NJPW
Kenny Omega was one of the biggest stars to sign with AEW. The promotion made it a point to promote his AEW Double Or Nothing match against Chris Jericho as the main attraction for weeks on end, finally culminating in a blockbuster No. 1 contender's match at the show. He had a strong showing, and has been an integral part of AEW ever since. In early 2019, Omega explained in an interview why he chose to sign with AEW.
"So WWE's offer was fantastic, as [Meltzer] reported. And a lot of people just know, it's common knowledge, but they went about it in a very professional, courteous way and those guys are nothing but constant professionals in the way they dealt with me. But at the end of the day, AEW presented something that was – they just couldn't be beat. I'm with my best friends in the business, I have a little bit of control in the creative, which is always, of course, very important. And I really feel like it's the true platform for me to sort of have my voice be heard and I always like challenges."
Kenny Omega certainly made a wise decision by signing with AEW
Kenny Omega defeated Jon Moxley a while ago on a special edition of Dynamite, to become the new AEW World Champion. He is still carrying the belt and is hands down the most crucial aspect of the current storyline between AEW and IMPACT Wrestling.